Shop Direct sales rose by 3 per cent to £1.74 bn for the 12 months to 30th June 2014, with its Very online brand showing growth of 23.1 per cent to become the group’s biggest brand with £700m sales. During the year some 84 per cent of sales were completed online with 44 per cent of those online sales made via mobile devices. More than half of the group’s customers now browse and shop across more than one device, with a fifth using a three-way combination of desktop, tablet and mobile. EBITDA growth of 24 per cent to £164.8m was achieved, up from £132.5m last year.
Commenting on the results Alex Baldock, Group CEO, said “These are strong results, driven by the very strong growth of Very.co.uk and the unrelenting boom in m-commerce. Mobile continues to be a game-changer for us, with more than half of our online sales now from smartphones and tablets. It’s clear that our strategy is working and we’ve made some big strides towards building a world-class digital retailer. But we’re nowhere near the full potential of this business, there’s a ton more to do, and we’ll continue to invest heavily to get it done.” The group had opened an in-house user experience lab during the year and is now conducting up to 50 tests a month live on its sites.
The group will launch Very Exclusive next year during London Fashion Week to bring a more upmarket offering to its customers.
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