SHARES in Joules Group plunged by more than one-third this morning as the troubled fashion retailer warned it expects to make a “significant loss” in the first half and a full-year loss before tax, “significantly below market expectations”.

The warning came as Joules reported that “trading has softened materially” the five weeks since July 19, stating that the recent warm and dry summer weather had “adversely affected” full-price sales of outerwear, rainwear, knitwear and wellies.

This has “compounded the ongoing subdued consumer demand” that has arisen from the cost-of-living crisis, Joules said.

“Retail sales have consequently been depressed over this five-week period, resulting in an 8% year-on-year reduction in retail sales in the 11 weeks of the current financial year-to-date,” Joules added.

The company said recent “softness in trading” allied to “current weak consumer sentiment” means that it expects to report a “significant loss” in the first half. Although the retailer anticipates its performance in the second half will improve as it begins to realise the benefits of “business simplification”, it expects to report a full-year loss before tax, “significantly below market expectations”.

Joules said retail margins had declined by six percentage points in the year to date, noting that this “reflects the shortfall of full-price sales and the level of discounting that has been required to engage customers in the highly promotions-driven retail landscape.”

In a previous trading update issued on July 19, Joules highlighted pressure on gross margins, with "consumer appetite weighted towards mark-downs amidst a heavily promotional environment".

Danni Hewson, financial analyst at AJ Bell, said: “Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse for retailer Joules, along comes another devastating profit warning.

“Customers have typically preferred to buy its goods if prices are slashed, so its margins have taken a big hit.

“Herein lies the problem for so many retailers. They are worried that consumers are under financial pressure so they’re panicking and discounting their goods thinking it’s better to sell something at a lower price than not at all.

“This is reflected in the latest ONS retail sales figures which flagged feedback from online retailers that suggests a range of promotions in July helped to drive sales.

“One of the biggest risks for retailers is getting sucked into the eternal discount war. Customers will become accustomed to enjoying money-off promotions and will expect to see them forever. It’s a dangerous game to play and takes a lot of effort to wean customers off these discounts.”

Shares were trading at 28.17p at around 11.15am, down 15.8p or 36%.