British fashion retailer New Look has cautioned that trading in the key Christmas quarter had got off to a slow start with unseasonably warm weather since the end of September making it harder to sell winter coats, jumpers and boots.
"We've had an unseasonal warm October and beginning of November and it's pretty tough out there," chief executive Anders Kristiansen said.
But he added that the firm had no plans for pre-Christmas discounting and was still optimistic it could have a good third quarter.
UK retailers have generally enjoyed a better year as the economy has moved back into growth, though executives see continued pressure on consumers with wage rises lagging inflation.
Last week Marks & Spencer, Britain's biggest clothing retailer, reported a ninth quarterly fall in a row in underlying general merchandise sales.
"As yet we are not seeing any benefits of economic recovery feed through to our customers' pockets," Kristiansen said today.
New Look, owned by private equity groups Apax and Permira, and founder Tom Singh, swung to a first-half profit driven by revenue growth, particularly online, as well as reduced discounting and cost savings.
But Kristiansen said he could not see New Look, which has net debt of £1.09 billion sterling, joining the current rush for stock market listings.
"I'm not the shareholders, basically it's up to them to decide. But I can't see us doing an IPO in the next 12 months," he stated
New Look pulled a planned flotation in 2010 amid turbulent financial markets.
The firm, which trades from over 1,100 stores across 32 countries including Ireland, said it made a pre-tax profit of £13.8m in the 26 weeks to September 28, reversing a loss of £13.6m the same time last year. Group revenue was up 6% to £753.2m.
Group sales at stores open over a year rose 1.9%, with UK like-for-like sales up 2.6%. The firm's online sales jumped 78.8%, reflecting improved functionality on its website and better delivery options.
New Look slumped to a loss in 2011-12 but made a small profit in the 2012-13 year.
The firm said it sees a "huge" international opportunity and plans to open its first store in China by spring 2014 and have about 20 by the end of that year. A big push is also planned into Germany, Russia and Poland.
