BOOKshop chain Ottakar's said a lacklustre Christmas left annual profits running below market expectations.
The 131-store group, which has stores in Darlington, Northallerton, Sunderland, Harrogate and Hexham, said a 2.2 per cent rise in like-for-like sales in the five weeks to January 1 failed to match levels earlier in the year.
Despite the success of best-selling titles such as Michael Palin's Himalaya, it warned that sales for the financial year to January 29 were likely to be £2.5m below expectations, with profits for the same period expected to miss City forecasts of £8.9m.
Chairman Philip Dunne said the prospects for the company remained strong, but that the festive season had been slow.
He said: "Christmas came relatively late this year for Ottakar's, in common with several other retailers."
Other best-selling titles during the period included Mick Wall's biography of John Peel and Sheila Hancock's book about her life with actor John Thaw.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article