The UK franchisee of fashion chain Kookai today blamed disappointing clothing ranges for a fall in first-half sales.
London-based Forminster said a poor set of collections from the French company, together with low levels of stock, had made trading “extremely difficult”.
However, a recent move allowing the 55-store UK arm to source clothing independently resulted in “significant” sales increases in the past month, sending shares 3% higher today.
Sales fell to £14.8m in the six months to August 28, from
£15.8m.
But pre-tax losses narrowed to £840,000 from £1.3m last time as a result of pricing changes by parent company Kookai SA.
Recent sales of autumn and winter ranges sourced independently by the British arm were particularly strong.
Forminster said: “We believe that we have been able to recapture the successful signature of Kookai and provide highly commercial product to the UK market which meets its specific needs.”
Kookai has been reinvigorated by a series of changes made by the new owners of Vivarte, which ultimately owns the rights to Kookai SA and the brand.
Weaknesses in the business were identified and board changes were made in a bid to get the brand back on track.
Forminster also said it was in the final stages of talks with two European brands to bring their products to the UK market next summer, although it did not name them.
Analyst Richard Ratner at broker Seymour Pierce said the second half had been encouraging and that he believed recent sales could be as much as 20% higher.
He said: “The company has, unfortunately, disappointed for some time, and whilst most of the blame must be accorded to Kookai SA, we think that the market will wait to see positive results before believing it.”
References: EGi News 26/11/04
