LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - TheWorks reported a slump in sales on Friday as Covid-related store closures take their toll on the gifts and crafts retailer.
In the 11 weeks to 10 January, sales fell 24.8% compared to the same period a year prior as the company's stores were forced to close due to government restrictions. Online sales remained strong, however, up around 70% on the previous year.

TheWorks said "this performance represents a successful balance between increasing capacity to meet significantly higher demand than originally envisaged, whilst managing the additional costs".

In the first half, revenue declined to £88.9m from £96.4m, dented by store closures in the first seven weeks of the period, but the adjusted loss before tax narrowed to £4.1m from £7.8m thanks to a focus on improving product margins and tight cost control, and supported by utilisation of the available government support schemes.

Chief executive officer Gavin Peck said: "When open, our stores have performed well and our online proposition has continued to resonate strongly, supported by the investment we made to increase online capacity.

"With our stores temporarily closed, we are, once again, focussed on maximising sales through our online operations and carefully controlling costs whilst ensuring that we are able to reopen safely when restrictions allow. We are in a strong financial position to face the current challenges and we remain confident in the medium-term growth potential of the business, particularly given the evident ongoing relevance of our proposition."

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