Debenhams delivered another blow to the high street yesterday with a third profit warning in only six months.
In an unscheduled announcement, the department stores group said that pre-tax profits were expected to be between £35m and £40m this year, far lower than market expectations of £50m. It blamed rivals’ discounting and weakness in key areas such as beauty.
Yesterday Debenhams’ shares fell by nearly 11% to 17½p, continuing a decline that has gone on for a year. In October they were at 50½p.
The department store group’s chief executive, Sergio Bucher, blamed falling numbers of shoppers and heavy discounting elsewhere on the high street for the fresh collapse in profits according to the Guardian.
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