Business
UPDATE ON IMPACT OF CORONAVIRUS
UPDATE ON IMPACT OF CORONAVIRUS.
About this update from Dfs Furniture Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \n \n RNS Number : 4696H\n DFS Furniture PLC\n 25 March 2020\n \n \n \n \n 25th March 2020 For immediate release\n \n \n DFS Furniture plc\n \n \n UPDATE ON IMPACT OF CORONAVIRUS\n \n \n Protecting our people, our customers, our suppliers and our business \n \n \n In response to the UK Government's announcement on 23 March, DFS Furniture Plc (\"DFS\" or \"the Group\") provides the following update.\n \n \n The health and wellbeing of our people is of paramount importance and following the request by the Prime Minister to close all \"non essential\" retail stores and operations, the Group confirms that it has temporarily closed all of its showrooms, manufacturing and distribution operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain. Our Group websites will continue to operate to take customer orders.\n \n \n \n Protecting our people and our customers\n \n \n DFS has adhered to the social distancing guidelines set out by the UK Government and its medical advisors. However, the announcement by the Prime Minister on 23 March led us to taking further action with the temporary closure of all customer-facing and manufacturing operations with immediate effect. In addition to showroom and manufacturing facilities temporarily shutting down, we are also suspending deliveries to protect our people and our customers.\n \n \n During this period, with support from the UK Government's Coronavirus job retention scheme, we intend to maintain employment for our colleagues for as long as possible. Our people are our most valuable asset and we stand by them at this unprecedented time.\n \n \n Protecting our suppliers and business\n \n \n In order to protect our financial position we have taken a number of actions and will be taking advantage of the welcome support from the UK Government, including:\n \n \n ·\n Significantly reducing our marketing expenditure, to reflect the current environment, albeit we have maintained spend where cancellation terms are excessively punitive; \n \n \n · \n Pausing all discretionary capital and operating expenditure, including the deferral of six planned new showroom openings in FY21;\n \n \n ·\n Benefitting from the business rates holiday for retail properties, effective from 1st April, the deferment of VAT payments to HMRC and the potential deferral of PAYE, NI and corporation tax payments, thr...