Whittard warns about profits, says London bombings had adverse impact on sales |
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Wed, 24 Aug 2005 09:05
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LONDON - Tea and coffee retailer Whittard of Chelsea announced today that the London bombings had affected its business significantly and sales in its outlet centers had been sliding due to the continued terrorist threat.
The company said in a statement that even the takeover approaches from overseas firms had been waning as a direct result of the London bombings and its subsequent fallout, "Trading in the company's Central London and tourist stores has been materially affected since the July attacks. This situation is likely to continue for some time and may even adversely affect sales during the important Christmas period. The board further believes that widespread general discounting in the UK High Street has attracted customers away from the outlet centers, affecting sales at these locations," the group's statement said.
Whittard shares also took a hit as the group warned that the sales for first 12 weeks of this year were way below expectations.
On the positive side, the company said that announcing that it was in talks, had invited interest from other companies as well, “The company continues to be in early stage talks and it is still too early for the Board to be able to determine whether or not these discussions will result in any formal offer being made,” the statement concluded.
The company's shares were down by 11 percent to 93.5 pence in early trading in the markets.
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