Topps Tiles PLC (LSE:TPT) reported worsening sales over the festive period, with like-for-like sales down 7%.
Total sales in the last 13 weeks of last year, the first quarter of the group's financial year, were down 4% but even that was worse than the 3% decline the UK's top tile retailer had warned of at the time of its final results in November.
Consumer spending pressures were to blame, Topps said, suggesting these were impacting most businesses serving the repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI) market.
Sales to trade customers were proving more resilient than sales to homeowners, and its Parkside commercial business was said to be profitable, while online sales division Online Pure Play showed "significant" growth.
Management assured investors that good control remained over costs, despite inflationary pressures continuing, with cash flow said to remain "strong".
The Topps board is still holding out hope that profits in 2024 will be weighted towards the second half, saying the group "remains well-positioned to respond to market conditions and we expect to have gained further market share in the first quarter".