In the struggle between the ability of Debenhams to grow by innovation, internet sales and new stores and the reluctance of depressed UK consumers to spend, a new factor has - temporarily at least - put the kibbosh on Debenhams.
Lousy winter weather hammered business in January, leaving like-for-like sales in the second half of the month down 10 per cent. That has caused an ongoing squeeze on profit margins as the department stores operator attempts to shift unwanted stocks. The upshot is that first-half pre-tax profits - to be released on 18 April - will be about £120m, below the City's expectations. Consequently, analysts have cut their forecasts for the year to end-August and now expect about pre-tax of £150m, little changed from the previous two years.
