The prestigious British luxury department store Fortnum & Mason enjoyed a 13% rise in sales over the Christmas period. The healthy figures were driven by a surge in domestic sales at the flagship London store, with growth across every channel, making 2017 Fortnum & Mason’s most successful Christmas in history.
Through the five-week period ending 31 December, Fortnum & Mason’s 13% increase in like-for-like sales marked an improvement upon last year’s record sales figure. The performance was fuelled by Fortnum & Mason’s brick and mortar stores in St Pancras International, Piccadilly, and Heathrow Terminal 5, in addition to positive sales through online platforms.
Ewan Venters, the CEO of Fortnum & Mason, commented: “Of course we are pleased by the continuing growth across all channels but we take great pride in the fact that at a time when the high street is under pressure, our stores, restaurants, bars and quality products are being enjoyed by our domestic customers more than ever.”
During December, the sales report showed that 77% of all sales at the Piccadilly store were made to domestic customers. Venters said: “This tells us that the high quality of customer experience we deliver in-store, and for which Fortnum’s is justly famous, is a big attraction for our customers, and is, of course, a reason to shop with us all year round.”
The contribution of Fortnum & Mason’s online platform to the record performance over Christmas was significant, with online sales up 23% compared with the same period in 2016.
“In a climate of financial uncertainty, these are very encouraging results. Our excellent Christmas performance is a reflection of the focus we have on our customers and is testament to the enduring appeal of great products and service.”
The Christmas sales performance rounded off an excellent 2017 for the 300-year-old company, which marked a fifth consecutive year of double-digit sales. Fortnum & Mason posted year-on-year sales growth of 14 percent for the fiscal year ending July and notched up £113 million of net sales. Net profit was up 23 percent and 82% of overall turnover was generated by products that had been made in the United Kingdom. Online revenue grew by 17 percent, and in logistic terms involved the delivery of goods to over 120 territories around the world.
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F&M in Blue & Orange by garryknight licensed under Creative commons 4
