This was blamed on a reduced range and decrease in selling space. However, the retailer managed to claw back some of the fashion decline in the second part of the year because of an 'encouraging consumer response to new ranges'.
In the first half of the year, fashion sales declined 35.5 per cent. Total like-for-like sales in the UK were down nearly 7 per cent. Like-for-like sales in home furnishings fell by 1.3 per cent compared with the same period the previous year.
There was also a drop in furniture sales, which fell 8.1 per cent on the previous year.
Like-for-like sales of decorating products fell 8.7 per cent and accessories dropped by 2 per cent over the period.
Despite this, Seymour Pierce analyst Richard Ratner said the retailer had experienced a 'significant turnaround' in the second half of the year.
He added: 'UK like-for-like sales were down by 6.7 per cent against a decline of 11.8 per cent during H1. This was due to a good final quarter and would indicate a roughly flat H2 like-for-like performance.'
Laura Ashley chief executive Lillian Tan said: 'The company is on track with its strategy to realign its store portfolio and further develop the quality of its product offering while monitoring margins.'
Ratner added: 'We increase our estimate for the year from£4.5million to£5.5million and for the following year from£5.5million to£6.7million.'
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