SHOPPING giant Great Universal Stores blamed the strength of the pound for wiping nearly £22 million off its profits for the latest financial year.
Taxable profits for the year to March 31 dropped to £570.6 million from £581.1 million, on sales of £2.855 billion, up from £2.757 billion. The company employs more than 500 at it's mail order site in Burnley.
The Home Shopping division of the group saw its sales slip by one per cent and operating profits drop to £124.4 million from £145.9 million. But the company has spent £7 million on improving its customer service, including the recruitment of 3,500 couriers to speed up delivery and it expects the benefits to show through this year.
"All these changes represent a considerable improvement from the customer's point of view," the company said.
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