Moss Bros has said couples appeared to put true love on hold over the summer by deferring their weddings until September to avoid clashing with the Olympics and Euro 2012 football tournament.
Brian Brick, chief executive of the men’s suit retailer, said: “Rather than getting married when Euro 2012 or the Olympics were on, they probably decided to get married in September.”
Moss Bros actually enjoyed a 2.6% uplift in cash deposits in the first half at its hire business but experienced a “deferral of wedding bookings” from this period into the second half totalling £1.9 million.
The delayed phasing of these hire payments saw the group, which operates the Moss and Savoy Taylors Guild stores, post flat profits of £2.2 million over the 26 weeks to July 28.
Moss Bros’ like-for-like sales rose by 5.7% over the period, but this reflects a slowdown on the 8.9% leap it posted in May. Brick said its underlying sales had been up by just 1% in June and July, adding: “We think this is down to Euro 2012 and the build-up to the Olympics.”
The group took the decision to absorb increases in the cost of raw materials for suits and this dragged down its gross profit margin by 2.2 percentage points to 60.4% over the half-year. “We felt we could not lift our prices. The market is still value-driven. Without a shadow of a doubt customers recognise a good price over an average one,” said Brick.
