Fashion retailer Quiz has said it expects to return to profitable growth in the medium term, despite reporting tough trading over the summer months.

In a trading update issued this morning, Quiz chairman Peter Cowgill said that the “challenging trading conditions reported” at the time of the retailer’s last update in June had “persisted over the summer months”.

He also said that “consistent with the widely reported conditions on the UK high street” the retailer had seen a “reduction in-store footfall during the period compared to the previous year”.

At its most recent update for the year to March 31, Quiz reported a 97% slide in pre-tax profits to ÂŁ0.2m, when sales rose 12% to ÂŁ130.8m.

Cowgill said “while trading conditions are expected to remain difficult” the retailer’s board is convinced that “through the strength of Quiz’s flexible business model and increasing online focus” it can return to profitable growth “in the medium term”.

He also flagged that Quiz’s ecommerce channels “continued to benefit from sales growth” during the period.

Online revenue for the retailer for the year to March 31 increased 34% to ÂŁ41m, representing 31.4% of group revenue, and the active online customer base increased 56% to 576,000.

On October 11, Quiz will report a further trading update to the City for the six-month period to September 30.

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