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Body blow for Body Shop
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January 12, 2001: 6:56 a.m. ET
UK cosmetics retailer adds to list of Xmas-period sales disappointments
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LONDON (CNNfn) - It's beginning to look a lot like a rough Christmas for some British retailers.
Body Shop International PLC (BOS), a seller of lotions and cosmetics, saw its shares fall 25 percent after warning it expects pretax profit for 2000 to fall 10 to 15 percent from the previous year's level.
Like-for-like revenue – sales in stores open a year or more – in Britain and Ireland in the nine weeks leading up to Christmas 2000 fell 2 percent from a year earlier. Total sales for the region rose 3 percent.
"On the grounds that the stock is down more than 22 percent, I think it's safe to say that people were surprised," said an analyst, who asked not to be named. 
CEO Patrick Gournay told Reuters that the speed of introduction of new products, a key part of the company's growth strategy, had dented profitability last year.
"When you are rushing in a new product you can sometimes compromise on efficiency," said Gournay, who admitted: "We were expecting higher sales in the second half."
However, the analyst said that disappointing reports from specific companies couldn't be seen as evidence that it had been a poor Christmas for the British retail sector overall.
Clothing and household decoration retailer Laura Ashley Holdings PLC (ALY), best known for its floral-patterned dresses, said Friday it was on track for recovery, reporting that like-for-like sales were up 7 percent in the six-week Christmas period ended Jan. 6.
Laura Ashley shares were down just 0.5 penny at 17.5 in London.
Upmarket men's clothing retailer Austin Reed Group PLC (ARD) gained 3.2 percent after saying like-for-like sales rose 4 percent in the six weeks through Jan. 6 and were 10 percent higher in the 23-week period up to the same date.
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 XMAS LIKE-FOR-LIKE SALES
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Body Shop: down 2% in 9 weeks up to Xmas; Laura Ashley: up 7% in 6 weeks up to Xmas; Austin Reed: up 4% in 6 weeks up to Xmas; House of Fraser: up 6% in 23 weeks up to Xmas
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And mid-market department store company House of Fraser PLC (HOF) slipped 0.6 percent after reporting like-for-like sales rose 6 percent in the 23 weeks ended Jan. 6.
The barrage of trading statements came a day after shares of fellow U.K. retailers Matalan PLC (MTN) and Next PLC (NXT) plunged in London after their reports disappointed investors.
Analysts pointed to next Tuesday as a bellwether day for the retail sector, as big-name retailers such as grocery chains Somerfield PLC (SOF) and J. Sainsbury PLC (SBRY) and drug store operator The Boots Co. (BOOT) report their latest numbers.
-- from staff and wire reports 
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