In the six weeks to 31st December, home shopping firm
Shop Direct reported a 5 percent rise in sales
(excluding VAT) driven by a double-digit growth in online sales.
The busiest shopping day of the season was 6th December, when
8,000 orders were placed in one hour. Sales on Christmas Day and
Boxing Day were also 10 percent ahead of the previous year. Shop
Direct’s Very brand performed particularly well
during peak season, with sales up 36 percent and customer growth
of 40 percent.
Marks & Spencer also had a successful Christmas
with total UK sales up 4 percent and like-for-like up 2.8 percent
in the 13 weeks to 1st January. M&S Direct sales were up 25
percent in the quarter, and international sales rose 4.5
percent.
Not so merry was the news from Expansys, the
online retailer partly owned by Dragon’s Den entrepreneur Peter
Jones. It saw shares slide 16 percent after it issued a profit
warning this week, writes the
Manchester Evening News. According to a trading statement,
sales in the US and Asia grew strongly but were offset by a
weaker performance in the UK and Europe.
UK retail sales values in December 2010 dipped 0.3 percent on a
like-for-like basis compared with December 2009. The BRC-KPMG
Retail Sales Monitor for December 2010 shows that on a total
basis, sales rose 1.5 percent-an appreciably lower rate compared
with the previous year, when a 6 percent rise was recorded.
Nonfood direct sales (mail order and online) rose 18 percent
December-on-December. The extreme weather conditions were blamed
for disrupting sales patterns and impacting trading levels for
some retailers.
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