The Unanticipated Drop in Topps Tiles’ Share Prices: A Deep Dive
Shares in the flooring company Topps Tiles fell by over 5% on Wednesday after an announcement of reduced sales. The company blamed “consumer confidence.” With like-for-like sales having fallen by more than 2%, the company has been forced to revise its profit forecasts for 2011 as a whole, resulting in a drop in share prices.
“No retailer likes to use weather as an excuse, but the correlation with our business is pretty well documented,” says the Finance Director of Topps Tiles, Rob Parker. Parker cites as evidence that sales in May were considerably more robust than just the month before, noting the change in the weather between those months. “People prefer to do outdoor jobs when the weather is better. If your downstairs WC needs retiling, you will do it later in the year, but do not put it off forever.”
The weather is by no means the only problem that Topps Tiles has had to contend with over the last few years; however, with the sluggish housing market in the United Kingdom, dropping consumer support, and a foray into the Netherlands that did not exactly end in tremendous success, all having taken their toll on the company.
The retail analyst at Investec, David Jeary, says that the decline in like-for-like sales was, in fact, worse than anyone could have predicted.
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“No retailer likes to use weather as an excuse, but the correlation with our business is pretty well documented,” says the Finance Director of Topps Tiles, Rob Parker. Parker cites as evidence that sales in May were considerably more robust than just the month before, noting the change in the weather between those months. “People prefer to do outdoor jobs when the weather is better. If your downstairs WC needs retiling, you will do it later in the year, but do not put it off forever.”
The weather is by no means the only problem that Topps Tiles has had to contend with over the last few years; however, with the sluggish housing market in the United Kingdom, dropping consumer support, and a foray into the Netherlands that did not exactly end in tremendous success, all having taken their toll on the company.
The retail analyst at Investec, David Jeary, says that the decline in like-for-like sales was, in fact, worse than anyone could have predicted.
