Cushioning the blow: Sofa firm upbeat despite second-half sales easing

Sofa chain SCS has revealed second-half orders slumped by 5 per cent as it battled against tougher trading. The group said the like-for-like decline came as it was hit by more difficult retail conditions and failed to match up to strong sales a year earlier. Like-for-like order intake overall in the year to 29 July fell by 0.7 per cent, but management insisted this was in line with expectations. The group warned on reporting interim results in March that it faced challenging comparatives and a softening retail market.