Topps floored by Beast from East

Topps Tiles has reported a slump in secondquarter sales, blaming a combination of extreme weather, the timing of Easter and a softening of the underlying market.

The group said likefor-like sales in the period dropped 2.2 per cent, a sharp reversal from the first quarter when comparable sales grew 3.4 per cent. For the first half of the year, like-forlike sales grew by just 0.6 per cent.