Moss Bros suffers flat first half after couples delay weddings
MOSS BROS said yesterday it missed out on reporting £2m in suit hire bookings in the first half of the year after the Olympics and other sporting events prompted couples to postpone their weddings to later on in the year.
The suit hire specialist said pre-tax profits remained unchanged at £2.2m compared with a year earlier as a result of couples delaying their nuptials but it expects to recoup £1.9m in income from deposits in the second half of the year.
The company, which runs 135 stores in the UK, reported like-for-like sales rose 5.7 per cent in the six months to 28 July but said trading in the past seven weeks had slowed due to disruption from the Olympic and Paralympics.
It is in the process of revamping 90 of its older stores over the next five years and said the four shops refitted in the period had already seen encouraging results.