Joules, the British lifestyle retailer, has issued a profit warning and also introduced a wide range of cost-cutting measures.
The move is seen as an effort on the part of the retailer to offset the impact of weak revenue as well as the fall in footfall.
The retailer saw its revenues touch £127.9 million in the 6 weeks to 28 November 2021. The numbers are, importantly, better than £95.4 million generated a year earlier.
Notably, the profit before tax pre-adjusting items of £2.6 million is down from £3.7 million.
Though the revenue for the 9 weeks to 30 January 2022 rose by 31 per cent year-on-year and 19 per cent from two-year-ago period, Joules said the performance was still below the expectations.
The retailer has, reportedly, stated that the profits for FY22 could now be no less than £5 million – a drop from £6.1 million in FY21.
To minimise costs and improve margins, Joules is now working on controlling cost in marketing, head office and capital expenditure, besides liquidating older and slow-selling stock via outlets and third parties.
It is also planning to simplify wholesale operations that include exiting some UK and EU agent and third-party stockist arrangements. However, the retailer has denied cutting the number of its employees.
Joules is a British apparel retailer, which sells clothing and homeware products inspired by British country lifestyles. Founded in 1989, it is known for selling apparels at country shows.
