ScS to close House of Fraser concessions
Furniture and flooring retailer ScS has reported that its like-for-like order intake rose by 1.2% in the 12 weeks to 20 October as it confirmed plans to close its concessions in House of Fraser stores.
The company said its core ScS business put in a good performance with like-for-like order intake growth of 4.5% in the period.
David Knight, ScS chief executive, said: “We are pleased to announce that we have continued to trade well in the core ScS business in the first 12 weeks of our financial year. We will continue to focus on our successful value offering proposition, coupling this with the excellent service that ScS provides and that our customers know and love.”
However, the company’s House of Fraser concessions fared less well with like-for-like orders down 52.5% year-on-year.
The news follows House of Fraser’s administration and its subsequent acquisition by Sports Direct in a pre-pack deal in August.
ScS has now confirmed that it will cease trading from its 27 concessions within House of Fraser stores by the end of January. The concessions accounted for 2.7% of the group’s order intake in the 12-week period. Where possible, the company will be looking to redeploy affected employees in the wider ScS business.
Knight added: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our colleagues who have worked in our House of Fraser concessions over the past few years for their dedication and hard work. However, given developments in House of Fraser over the last few months, it has become clear that the partnership was no longer beneficial to ScS.”