Laura Ashley's bold move to attract fashionable young customers has not impressed its floral-loving traditionalists, as a slump in fashion sales showed yesterday, Women's Editor Lindsay Jennings looks at what the future holds for the stuggling fashion chain.

The comforting thing with Laura Ashley is that you always know what you're going to get.

If you're looking for a floaty floral skirt for a wedding, the odds are you'll find it in Laura Ashley, likewise if you're keen to find a little woollen cardie in plum for chilly Autumn nights.

But the core traditionalists who buy these type of garments are now being blamed for a dramatic slump in its fashion sales - down £19.9m to a £118m in the first six months of this year.

The group has recently undergone a revamp, refurbishing its stores and bringing in new designers to overhaul its range in a bid to attract younger customers and halt flagging sales.

Alongside the traditional floral tea dresses this season were fashionable full-circle skirts in geometric prints, smart pink tweed suits, body-hugging tailoring and close-cropped knitwear.

But while the fashion press looked favourably on the move, chief operating officer Mike Kingsbury said yesterday the new fashionable ranges had not appealed to its older customers.

It is looking at cost-saving and broadening its furnishings to offset the impact of lower sales.

"In line with other retailers, August was an unusually challenging month and trading is not felt to be indicative of our expectations for the second half," said Mr Kingsbury.

The shift towards younger customers is one which has already stung Marks & Spencer, with its Per Una range failing to attract its intended youthful market.

As a result of falling sales, M&S is now looking at shedding up to 1,000 staff and the closure of its much-trumpeted Gateshead Lifestore.

Survival also depends upon branding, says Terry Robinson, a retail and marketing lecturer at Teesside Business School, and if you have an image for chintzy floral dresses, you will struggle to attract the lucrative young fashion market to walk through the doors in the first place.

"There's a saying in business which is stick to what you're good at," he said. "If you're going to reposition yourself, it's not enough to think of store revamps if you still have the same brand.

"It's very difficult to be all things to all people.

"There are similarities with M&S in that they are both traditional businesses. Both of them have gone after this very fickle young market that is supposed to exist and they haven't got it right."

Ironically, it's the floral prints which are possibly responsible for the increase of three per cent in the first six months in Laura Ashley's furnishing arm.

The group has capitalised on the trend in interiors for floral wallpapers, floral French chic in soft furnishings and decadent chandeliers.

But while the answer may be to "stick to what you know", Anthony Platts, retail analyst at stockbroker Wise Speke, said: "I'm not sure they can win either way because they need to cater for their loyal customers otherwise they'll go out of business, but in order to increase figures they've got to get younger people coming in.

"It's sad to say, but I can't see a long-term future for them."