Studio Retail Group’s first half sales marginally ahead year-on-year
Studio Retail Group has said its first half product sales were marginally ahead of its “exceptional” performance in the same period in the prior year and up 38% on 2019.
Due to issues with global shipping container availability and higher supply chain costs in recent months, the company said it decided early in the summer to secure its supply chain for the busy trading period in the run-up to Christmas. This included use of contracted container shipping and additional charter ships to give more guaranteed stock availability.
Studio said it is now in a strong stock position ahead of the peak trading period with inventory levels around 10% ahead of last year.
The company added: “Studio typically delivers around 40% of its full-year product sales during the upcoming Q3 period that includes Black Friday and Christmas. Whilst the business is well positioned with a strong overall stock position, there are continuing headwinds in the wider market that make the outlook more uncertain than usual at this stage of the year.”
