It was a merry Christmas at M8 Group, which operates online
retailers PetPlanet.co.uk and
Greenfingers.com. During the period from 1st to
23rd December, sales at pet-supplies etailer PetPlanet.co.uk were
up 52 per cent on the same time the previous year. Sales at
gardening supplies business Greenfingers grew 73 per cent. While
the growth was partly aided by the absence of snow this year,
managing director Kevin Hague says gross and variable
contribution margins also improved and “we have
consistently delivered 30 to 40 per cent growth levels during
2011”, leading him to believe the results reflect “a
broader trend that ‘winning’ online-only web propositions are
continuing to gain share against weaker propositions and other
channels”. Total revenue for 2011 was in excess of £15
million and Hague is confident the business can sustain high
levels of profitable growth “for many years to
come”.
The Witney Gazette reports that Oxfordshire-based
Past Times has closed 47 of its 98 stores,
resulting in 400 redundancies. It adds that 50 further jobs at
head office are “safe for now” after the company
applied for a 10-day extension to a notice to appoint
administrators while talks continue with potential buyers.
Total sales at Argos declined by 7.8 per cent to
£1.72 billion in the 18 weeks to 31st December, with
like-for-likes down 8.8 per cent, reports parent company Home
Retail Group. Particularly weak were sales of consumer
electronics, such as video games and audio products, though sales
of laptops and tablets remained strong. Online accounted for 41
per cent of Argos’s total sales, with the “Check &
Reserve” service boosted by the uptake of mobile commerce.
Sister company Homebase saw more resilient
trading, but sales still declined 2.5 per cent to £475
million in the period.
The news wasn’t any better from auto accessories retailer
Halfords, where total group sales declined 2.1
per cent in the 13 week period to 30th December. It even saw a 3.6
per cent decline in online sales, due to a shrinking demand for
satellite navigation systems. However, the company was encouraged
by the performance of its cycling and leisure products and of its
Autocentres car-care service.
At Mothercare, total group sales declined 1.2
per cent, with UK like-for-like sales down 3 per cent and UK
“direct-in-home” sales down 2.2 per cent in the 13
weeks ended 7th January. The launch of a new website in 2012 is
expected to improve the performance of Mothercare’s direct arm
and its overall sales.
For the five weeks to 31st December, UK sales at apparel retailer
New Look rose 3.4 per cent (excluding VAT).
Executive chairman Alistair McGeorge was pleased with the
results, commenting that the recent performance shows initiatives
taken since the summer are beginning to pay off “that both
sales and profitability are responding positively”.
In its trading update for the 14 weeks ended 7th January,
confectioner Thorntons delivered total sales of
£83.7 million, a rise of just 0.6 per cent and below
management expectations. Commercial sales performed well, growing
16.9 per cent to £29.2 million, while Thorntons Direct sales
increased by 8.1 per cent to £5.5 million. In related news,
the company appointed former Peacocks chief
financial officer Michael Killick as finance director, replacing
Mark Robson.
In the four trading weeks to 25th December, gross sales at online
grocer Ocado were £59 million, up 16
per cent on 2010. It also improved operational efficiency with 97
per cent of orders on time or early-compared with 94 per cent 2010,
and 97 per cent of items delivered exactly as ordered-up from 96
per cent in 2010.
Shares in Tesco tumbled 15 per cent, wiping
£4 billion, after the supermarket delivered a disappointing
UK sales growth of 1.7 per cent (excluding petrol) in the six
weeks to 7th January. Online sales during the period were strong
in both food and non-food, reporting a growth of more than 14
percent. Almost one million orders were placed with Tesco Direct
during the period, of which more than two-thirds were collected
in store.
Apparel retailer/cataloguer Boden has launched
an iPad app developed by Ceros and designed by creative agency
FMG. The app uses Boden’s photography and will be published
online on a monthly basis, in-line with Boden’s print catalogue.
Features include personalised product recommendations based on
the current weather conditions as well as a curated live feed
from Boden’s social media channels and community site.
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