Liberty sales wilt in heat of summer

SALES at loss-making department store Liberty fell during the heatwave of July and August.

The upmarket shop Regent Street shop blamed the hottest summer since 1976 for a depressed start to the new financial year as shoppers stayed away from central London.

'West End retailing suffered from the impact of the summer's heatwave,' said Richard Balfour-Lynn, executive chairman of the parent company Retail Stores.

The freak weather came after spring trading was hit by the Iraq war, the closure of the Central line and the introduction of the congestion charge.

Balfour-Lynn said: 'We continue to be focused on returning this landmark store to profitability although we remain cautious about the short-term economic outlook.'

Liberty remained in the red in the year to the end of June, recording a pre-tax loss of £4.65m, against £15.54m for the same period previously. Last year's loss was exaggerated by an £11.4m write-down of the Liberty brand.

The underlying operating loss of £1.52m was a slight improvement on previous year's £1.89m. Sales were almost unchanged at £46.55m.

Loss-making Laura Ashley also suffered from the freak weather, although its new Malaysian chief executives Ainum Mohd-Saaid, a lawyer, and accountant Rebecca Navarednam said they were pleased with the progress of the core UK business.

There was a particularly strong performance in cabinet furniture and accessories.