Major outdoor group Blacks Leisure saw its sales fall more than five per cent in recent weeks, despite a rise in the sale of tents and other camping gear attributed to Britons abandoning expensive air travel for canvas holidays at home.
Camping is enjoying a resurgence as fuel prices hit foreign travel
Outdoor goods sold 2.2 per cent less, while surf and boarding brand sales plummeted by 15.5 per cent. But shares in the company rose by almost two per cent on the news of the camping surge, which has also been boosted by music festival-goers.
The company’s chief executive Neil Gillis said campsites in Britain were reporting bookings of 10 per cent more than last year.
Blacks, originally founded by a chandler from Greenock, on the Firth of Clyde, lost £9.3m in the year up to March 2008. It has 260 Millets stores, 110 Blacks outlets plus Freespirit and O’Neill boarding shops.
It has cut jobs at its headquarters in Northampton and a warehouse in Tyne and Wear.
Controversial entrepreneur Mike Ashley, owner of Newcastle United, holds nearly 25 per cent of Blacks shares and has criticised the company’s commercial strategy.
Several stores have been revamped and others are due to be changed to a layout based on brands rather than type of equipment.
ISFA
21 July 2008I am not surprised - both stores have a very uninspired choice of mainly fashion goods. Probably aiming for the 'mass' market. The staff(poor souls) seem to come and go rapidly and suffer from poor training resulting in rubbish advice eg describing Goretex as a brilliant new material that stops sweating and advising me to replace my boots at least every year. I still managed to spend money there tho. although only a small percentage of what I spent on line over the last year.
Guest
22 July 2008I would echo the previous comments. When I started shopping at Blacks - you had a decent choice of mid range equipment and the occassional top end product. I recently visited my local Blacks store only to find wall to wall Berghaus or North Face jackets (all in Black or Blue) and similarly 2 suppliers of rucksacks. Unfortunately, people like me will not shop at Blacks anymore because it no longer has it's own identity. It has become like Millets (I wonder why!) and nothing sets them apart from the rest. If anyone from Blacks head office reads this, please please start stocking decent products that addmitedly will cost more but will bring back customers (like me) with money to spend.
ISFA
22 July 2008If anyone from head office has read the wise comments from Guest and myself may I point out that for a reasonable(large) fee we would make ourselves available to guide them back to increasing sales.