Retailer Quiz to ‘run out of cash’ in early 2025 after poor Christmas trading

Clothes seller Quiz has warned it will run out of cash in early 2025 unless it gets more funding.

The struggling retailer said sales had been “disappointing” in the Christmas trading period and that its cash reserves are “less than previously anticipated”.

It said the poor trading was partly because of the “impact of inflationary pressures on consumer confidence and spending”.

But it also blamed “”subdued consumer demand for the brand”.

“As a result, the board anticipates that additional funding will be required by the group in early 2025,” it said on Friday.

Glasgow-based fashion retailer Quiz has been struggling for several months, and recently announced that it will delist from the London Stock Exchange to cut costs.

The company operates 62 stores and 47 concessions across the UK and according to its website has about 1,500 staff.

Earlier this month, it said it had suffered a poor trading period in November and had hired advisers as it neared running out of cash.

Since then, demand has “shown signs of improvement” in December, with online revenues tracking similar with the previous year, it said.

In-store sales caused the company particular headaches, it said, with sales trending “behind those achieved last year”.

Chairman Peter Cowgill said the company needs to “substantially reduce” costs, which will likely see the closure of parts of the business.

Beyond that, he wrote, “there exists substantial risks associated with the group’s ability to continue as a going concern”, meaning it could go bust.

The company pointed to a potential extra annual cost of £1.7m because of increases in the minimum wage and employer national insurance contributions.

Those policies, announced by the Government in the autumn, will not take effect until April, before which Quiz needs fresh funding.