Laura Ashley bosses hail firm's 'resilience'
Bosses at Laura Ashley have hailed the company's "resilience", despite experiencing a sales decline in the first half of the year.
The Mid Wales-headquartered home furnishings group said it was pleased with the company's first-half performance, despite a three per cent decline in sales to £139.7 million.
Overseas sales were the chief cause of the overall decline, after the international franchising and licensing division suffered a 31.5 per cent fall in revenue to £11.7 million.
Profits dropped slightly, from £8.5 million to £8.4 million.
But like-for-like sales – those reflecting the performance of stores which have been open for more than a year – were up by seven per cent.
Chairman Tan Sri Dr Khoo Kay Peng said: "I am pleased to report that our business has maintained the robust performance of recent years with a healthy increase in like-for-like, retail sales.
"Our UK business, buoyed by a strong performance from our online channel, has shown resilience and potential for continued growth."
Laura Ashley employs around 200 people at its factory in Newtown, where it makes things like paint, made-to-measure blinds and curtains, and wallpaper.
The decorating division, which includes the Newtown plant, sales grew by 2.1 per cent, or four per cent on a like-for-like basis.
Laura Ashley has 208 stores around the country including in Newtown, Telford and Shrewsbury, which was one of the first three towns in which it opened after its launch in 1968.
As well as its factory in Newtown, it also employs 400 people in the area in its national distribution centre, as well as in finance, IT and other functions.
Dr Peng added: ""We are encouraged as we enter the second half of the year. We will continue to work with our overseas franchisees to ensure that we maximise the international opportunities for our franchise partners and the group."
