Card Factory, the greetings cards and gift retailer, has blamed the increase in the national living wage for a slump in profits.
Shares in the retailer fell 16 per cent in early trading after it reported that first-half pre-tax profits dropped 43 per cent to £14 million, “predominantly driven by the increase in direct costs as a result of the impact of minimum wage increases”.
A number of businesses have warned of the impact of rising wages on profits after the UK’s national living wage rose by 9.8 per cent to £11.44 an hour in April.
• Workers on lowest pay set for 6% rise in minimum wage
Card Factory said that higher international shipping and packaging costs had also hit profits.
However, the retailer