The Very Group which operates digital retailer Very, has announced its Christmas and Black Friday period trading results for the seven weeks to 27 December 2024.
Very UK delivered retail sales growth of +2.3 per cent year-on-year, supporting Group retail sales growth of +0.5 per cent year-on-year. When the impact of Nike sales, following the sportswear brand’s move to a direct-to-consumer model, is taken into account. Very Group says that Very UK and Group sales grew by 4.5 per cent and by 2..8 per cent year-on-year, respectively.
Across the period, Home (+15.0 per cent YoY) and Toys, Gifts & Beauty (+7.3 per cent YoY) were the standout categories, with Fashion & Sports (+2.9 per cent YoY, +11.2 per cent YoY excluding Nike which had 1) also in growth. Games consoles, perfumes and pillows were among the best-selling items, with LEGO and air fryers also performing well.
On the back of strong peak trading and progress with our ongoing cost initiatives, the Group expects Q2 FY25 YTD Group adjusted EBITDA growth of 16 per cent – 18 per cent.
Robbie Feather, Group CEO at The Very Group, commented: “Customers left shopping later this year but when the time came, they made the most of our offering, with this momentum carrying on into our Boxing Day and January sales. Looking ahead, we remain focused on the rest of 2025 which we expect will remain highly competitive. We are confident that our proposition, which combines multi-category digital retail and flexible ways to pay, will continue to be valued by our customers, providing them with a one-stop-shop for everything they need.”
6.9m items were processed at Skygate, the Group’s highly automated fulfilment centre, with 218,000 items processed on 29 November 2024, the busiest day of the Group’s peak period, and beating last year’s busiest day of 205,000 items. The fastest order during the peak period was processed and dispatched in 16 minutes. The business maintained its next-day delivery service throughout the peak period, with a cut-off of 7pm on 23 December for delivery before Christmas.
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