Laura Ashley profits plummet 72 per cent amid weak pound and decreasing demand

Same-store retail sales fell 3.1 per cent, with group revenue down 31 per cent to £277 million. 

Its UK stores reduced from 192 to 167 – mainly because of closure of concessions in Homebase. 

It described the 10.4 per cent drop in like-for-like fashion sales as “disappointing”, but added: “We have restructured our fashion team. 

We are confident the building blocks are in place to grow our fashion business.”

“Chairman Khoo Kay Peng added: “Trading conditions have been challenging for the year ended 30 June 2017.

“The impact of weak sterling has also contributed to the overall fall in profit which the group has experienced.

“We are focussed on addressing the challenges which our business has encountered over the past year and are confident that we are well-positioned to overcome them.

“Our online performance continues to be strong and we saw like-for-like online revenues grow by 5.6 per cent over the year.”

Same-store furniture sales were down 5.3 per cent, while home accessories grew by 3.7 per cent.