Business
FY20 Results and Q1 FY21 Trading Update
FY20 Results and Q1 FY21 Trading Update.
About this update from Watches Of Switzerland Group Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \n \n RNS Number : 0283W\n Watches of Switzerland Group PLC\n 13 August 2020\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Watches of Switzerland Group PLC\n \n \n FY20 Results and Q1 FY21 Trading Update\n \n \n for the 52 weeks to 26 April 2020 and 13 weeks to 26 July 2020\n \n \n \n \n \n Record year performance in FY20\n \n \n Q1 trading ahead of management expectations with sales growth in June/July vs prior year\n \n \n Group expects gradual traffic improvement with localised market disruption\n \n \n \n \n \n Watches of Switzerland Group PLC (\"the Group\") today provides the following financial results for the 52 weeks ending 26 April 2020 (FY20) and an unaudited trading update for the 13 weeks ending 26 July 2020 (Q1 FY21).\n \n \n \n \n \n Brian Duffy, Chief Executive Officer, said:\n \n \n \n \n \n \"I am delighted with our achievements during FY20, our first year as a public company. We delivered a strong performance during the first 46 weeks of the year before adapting with speed and agility to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Momentum accelerated in our US business adding to the positive performance in the UK and we remain confident in our strategy to drive profitable growth in both markets.\n \n \n \n \n \n I am extremely proud of the dedication and enthusiasm of our teams who have remained highly engaged and continued to deliver impressive results. We are pleased to have maintained full job security and salaries for all our staff in the UK and in the US during the lockdown period. We will continue to prioritise the health and wellbeing of our colleagues and customers throughout this challenging time.\n \n \n \n \n \n While we began FY21 with our global store portfolio closed due to the pandemic, we were well prepared for the re-opening of our stores during Q1 and trading has exceeded our expectations in both the UK and the US. The UK has been driven by continued strong ecommerce sales and domestic demand in regional stores, partly offsetting greater declines in London (due to reduced tourism) and our airport stores. The US continued to gain momentum during the period with all re-opened stores performing strongly versus the prior year. This continued strong performance is testament to our long-standing brand partn...