Topps Tiles shares (LON:TPT) were down on Tuesday after the retailer warned that consumer demand has weakened even further since the general election was called in October.
Shares in the tile retailer were 3% lower during Tuesday morning trading.
The UK was granted yet another extension to its European Union departure deadline, prolonging the period of political and economic uncertainty.
Parties are now preparing for the general election on the 12th of December.
Topps Tiles said on Tuesday that in the first eight weeks of the new financial period, retail like-for-like revenues declined by 7.2%.
The company said that a reduction in the uncertain political climate is intrinsic to the improvement of its short term outlook.
The warning came in the company’s financial results for the full year, in which it revealed that adjusted revenue for the 52 weeks ended 28 September 2019 was “broadly flat”.
“This has been another year of strategic progress for Topps, with a resilient sales performance in our retail business and significant development in our commercial operations,” Matthew Williams, who will be stepping down from his position as CEO at the end of November, commented on the results.
“At the start of the new financial year, trading conditions have become more challenging, with consumer demand weakening further since the General Election was called in late October,” the CEO warned.
“Against this backdrop of heightened political and economic uncertainty, like-for-like sales in the first eight weeks have declined,” the CEO continued.
“Whilst we expect external events will continue to weigh on consumer confidence for the immediate future, we remain confident that our market-leading retail offer and growing commercial operations give us a strong platform from which to deliver sustainable growth over the medium and long term.”
As the election date approaches, the question remains; when will this period of political doubt end?
Shares in Topps Tiles plc (LON:TPT) were down on Tuesday, trading at -3.68% as of 09:18 GMT.