Joules sinks after poor Christmas trading

The share price of AIM-listed clothing firm Joules (LON:JOUL) sank 19% to 183p (as of 15:20 GMT) after it said sales for the seven weeks to 5th January were below expectations. Management said that sales for the period were 4.5% below the prior year due to disappointing online sales and internal stock issues.

CEO Nick Jones commented: “We are disappointed with our inability to fully satisfy our customers’ demand through our online channel during the important Christmas sale period. We have identified the root cause of this one-off issue and have taken steps to prevent its reoccurrence.

“Demand for the Joules brand and its unique products remains strong, with continued growth in total customer numbers and website traffic as well as robust results in our stores and partner retail channels.

“We remain focussed on continuing to expand the Joules brand and are making significant enhancements to our supply chain operations in the UK and US to deliver both future capacity growth and efficiency.“