Warm weather catches out Supergroup

Shares in Supergroup, owner of the Superdry clothing brand, fell by nearly 23 per cent to 1219p yesterday after it posted a sharp slowdown in its sales growth.

Supergroup blamed the fact it opened only one UK store in the fourth quarter, compared with six last year, but admitted it was initially late in getting summer stock in store for the hot April weather.

Retail sales grew by 39 per cent to £32m in the quarter to 1 May, compared with 71 per cent growth over the year.