The owner of nightclub chains Liquid and Oceana has posted a severe decline in sales over the Christmas season as clubbers avoided the freezing weather and stayed at home.
Luminar reported a 19.4% drop in like-for-like sales in the 12 weeks to January 6 but said same-outlet sales over the Christmas and New Year weeks were still ahead of anticipated levels.
Even after excluding the weeks affected by the weather, Luminar’s sales declined by 13.6% on a like-for-like basis.
But shares in the company lifted nearly 9% as the performance was an improvement on declines witnessed earlier in the year.
The Milton Keynes-based company also warned its recent introduction of premium brands into the nightclubs has dented its profit margins.
The decline in sales comes despite Luminar introducing high-end brands, cocktails, live entertainment and club nights promoted by record label Hed Kandi, which it said were well received.
The marketing moves formed part of new chief executive Simon Douglas’s turnaround strategy and included a tie-up with dance music brand Ministry of Sound.
The company has had a difficult year, with sales declining 19.6% on a like-for-like basis since March as hard-pressed clubbers opted to stay at home.
Luminar was hammered by youth unemployment in the recession, while the distraction of the World Cup added to trading pressures over the summer.
It posted a hefty pre-tax, pre-exceptionals loss of £35.7 million in the 26 weeks to August 28, compared with a £1.5 million profit a year earlier.
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