Quiz calls in advisors as sales continue to drop

British retailer Quiz has announced that it has engaged advisors to “consider appropriate options” after revenues during its key trading month of November took a sharp decline.

For the four month period from 1 August to November 30, 2024, total sales at Quiz dropped 5.7 percent year-on-year to 24.9 million pounds. Declines were seen both in online sales (-8.1 percent) and for UK stores and concessions (-9.7 percent).

These were only offset by a notable increase in international sales, which rose 11.3 percent to 4.9 million pounds, backed by strong performance with Quiz partners in the Middle East and the US.

The company particularly credited its switch to a new international partner as the reason for a boost in international revenues, and as such reported that it was planning to open four new stores in the coming months to complement its existing 15 locations.

Quiz noted that the impact of the later than usual Black Friday and the recent UK budget announcement was currently unclear, yet sales for the eight months to November 30 fell “behind management expectations” at 52.2 million pounds, a drop of 8.6 percent.

Despite focusing on its working capital, Quiz said that its cash headroom available to the business was “less than previously anticipated”, with its existing bank facilities to potentially be fully utilised in the first quarter of 2025.

As such, and in the absence of material improvement to trading in the pre-and-post Christmas period, Quiz will work with advisors to review the group’s financing and strategic options.

It further stated that a majority shareholder loan was being agreed and made available to the group, with additional funding to be required by the first quarter of 2025.