“We are selling a lot of shorts, and we’re selling a lot of linen trousers in our Melbourne stores... our team is going ahead and continuing to produce more lightweight products,” she said.

But investors appeared spooked by references to a deteriorating macroeconomic environment. The company’s shares plunged by 24 per cent to $3.14 in mid-afternoon trade, having fallen even more earlier in the session.

Analysts have been bullish on companies such as Universal Store over the past few months, with the belief that younger consumers will be more willing to continue to spend on clothes and accessories, given many have more assistance from family in covering their housing costs and fewer shoppers in this cohort have mortgages.

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UBS has had a “buy” recommendation on Universal Holdings for months, highlighting the company as among its preferred retail stocks due to its youth customer focus and expansion plans.

The investment bank’s consumer analysts have long argued that the youth segment is more insulated from rising costs than other consumer groups, like young families.

“Young consumers are expected to enjoy more of the tight labour market with cost-of-living pressures arguably shared with family,” its analysts said in a note at the start of the year.

Recent spending data from millions of Commonwealth Bank customers, released last week, suggests that while adults aged between 18 and 24 sustained their level of spending during the March quarter, those in their mid-20s and early 30s were especially feeling the pinch.

The CommBank iQ cost of living report showed those under the age of 35 increased their spending by 3.4 per cent in the three months to March compared with last year - below the annual inflation figure of 7 per cent.

Renters and consumers aged 30 to 34 were feeling the most pain and taking the most action to change their spending, the report found.