Shop Talk
ZEENAT MOORAD: Unpacking what went wrong at Mr Price
The dog ate my homework. We’ve all used it. And Mr Price is no exception. The retailer’s horrid trading update and ancillary conference call wiped off a thick chunk of its market value, raising concern over its business model and the likelihood of deeper issues at the cheap ’n (once) chic retailer.Disclaimer: This was not the first set of alarming figures that the one-time darling of the clothing retail sector put out — back in January poor figures erased close to 18% of its value in one day. Then, like now, Mr Price seemed all over the place about what exactly went wrong. Let’s unpack this, shall we? By now it’s become clear that the main problem is the Mr Price clothing chain — it accounts for about 60% of sales.Now, retailers blaming the weather for disappointing trading performance is nothing new. And at times it’s legit.Think about it — would an Italian cashmere cable-knit sweater in a 7-gauge knit really fly off the shelves in unseasonably high temperatures?In November and Dec...
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