Sales recovering for carpets group Victoria
Carpets and tiles group Victoria says sales are recovering after coronavirus lockdowns have eased around the world.
Kidderminster-based Victoria's board said that in every area trading had exceeded management expectations following the restart of operations.
All manufacturing had to shut down along with many of its customers’ shops across Europe, but sales began to recover in mid-May with the easing of restrictions in some countries.
The group has been methodically reopening its manufacturing and distribution operations to meet the current high acceleration in demand whilst ensuring that costs are not incurred unnecessarily.
Over the last three weeks revenue was about 85 per cent of management’s pre-Covid-19 budget and further recovery is expected as orders begin to flow to Victoria from UK retailers, who were the last to start trading as they were only allowed to reopen last week.
Victoria, which says it has weathered the storm in good shape, has not accessed any government credit-line schemes and does not foresee any current need to raise capital for normal operating activities.
The board is considerably more optimistic in respect of the current financial year than at the time of the last trading update in March at the outbreak of Covid-19 in the UK.
It says it is important to remember that 93 per cent of Victoria’s revenues are derived from consumers redecorating their homes, not construction or commercial projects, and consumer demand for home decorating products appears to be strong across the world with the extended period consumers have spent in their home over the last four months encouraging the impulse to redecorate.
