Courts seeing cash benefits of increased orders
Furniture retailer forecasts improvements
July 23 2003
Furniture retailer Courts has started to see increased UK orders translate into cash sales, shareholders have been told.
At Courts’ annual meeting, chairman Robert Shrager said that UK bookings, previously reported to have seen an increase, “are now beginning to be matched in terms of delivered sales.” However he warned that margins are lower.
Trading conditions remain similar to those reported at Courts’ year end, with an encouraging start for the international sales. Africa & Pacific and Caribbean businesses are outperforming South East Asia, where conditions remain challenging.
Shrager said: “Our new management team continue to make progress in their drive to rejuvenate this business and we expect to see a progressive improvement in performance over the year.”
Courts operates more than 350 stores in 21 countries, specialising in furniture and electrical products.
