Leicester-based Topps Tiles says its first half performance reflects two distinct and contrasting periods of trading after Q1 saw record sales, with retail like-for-like sales up 19.9%, while Q2 was “significantly impacted by trading restrictions,” with homeowners unable to enter stores for three months and retail like-for-like sales down 17.3%.
According to interim results for the 26 weeks ended 27 March 2021, group revenue at Topps Tiles was £103.2 million, down 2.8% from £106.2 million in the comparable period of 2020.
The group did however boost its profits, reporting a pre tax profit of £4 million, up from a loss of £3.2 million last year.
Rob Parker, Chief Executive, said: “In another reporting period dominated by the impacts of Covid-19, Topps has once again shown its flexibility and resilience and I would like to thank all colleagues across the Group for the continued hard work and commitment underpinning these results.
“Inevitably, our first half results reflect two sharply contrasting periods of trading. An exceptionally strong performance in Q1 demonstrated the ability of the business to bounce back following the initial lockdown. Our performance in Q2, while materially stronger than in the first lockdown, was heavily impacted by the re-imposition of Covid-related trading restrictions at the start of the period.
“The re-opening of our stores to all customers on 12 April has once again been received very positively and we have seen a strong recovery in sales and gross margins, with Retail like-for-like sales 16.8% ahead of the same period in 2019 in the five weeks since re-opening. We are confident of a much-improved performance in the second half and believe the Group remains well positioned to take advantage of an expected increase in consumer spending as we focus on our market share goal of ‘1 in 5 by 2025’.”