13 April 2011 – trading statement
A disappointing trading statement has been issued by the home shopping group with orders for the period to 1 April 2011 being marginally ahead of the same period last year, but only thanks to acquisitions made in 2010. On a like-for-like basis, orders are almost 20% down due to the difficult consumer environment. The Flowers and Gift business has significantly underperformed although the Garden business has had a mixed start to the year. Despite the share price fall it is too early to buy – HOLD.