SuperGroup
Margin guidance flat year-on-year
It was entirely predictable that the unusually warm conditions in the autumn, which floored several of the general retailers and had investors heading for the exits, would be followed by a colder spell. This happens all the time; it is called weather.
So Debenhams noted on Tuesday an improving performance as the winter progressed. SuperGroup, which put out its own weather-related profits warning in October, just after Euan Sutherland joined as chief executive, rushed out its Christmas trading statement early to allow analysts to upgrade their numbers.
SuperGroup announced a 4.1 per cent fall in like-for-like sales in the half-year to the end of October. Since then, like-for-likes have risen by 12.4 per cent. Part of this is because the