- A steep rise in the interim pay-out
- Gross margin contracts on inflation and sales mix
The overriding consideration for investors in Wickes (WIX) is the extent to which runaway inflation will impact demand for its home maintenance, repair, and improvement products. Some of this will boil down to necessity. The need to fix a leaking downpipe is not the same as a desire to repaint an architrave; only the latter falls under the general heading of “discretionary spending”. But with inflation at elevated levels, will the likes of Wickes witness a marked fall-away in demand from homeowners, thereby erasing some of the unexpected benefits that accrued from the lockdown periods?