Booths reports modest Christmas sales gain
Booths, the North of England based food and drink retailer, saw a total sales increase of 0.6% in the six week Christmas trading period ending 3 January.
On a like-for-like basis, sales edged down 0.8% in what the retailer described as a “challenging” market.
Booths attributed the total sales growth to its Christmas home delivery and collect-in-store orders which rose by 34% as customers opted for online ordering.
Chairman Edwin Booth said: “Against the backdrop of a challenging retail market coupled with food deflation, sales at Booths held up reasonably well. As a comparison our performance in Christmas 2013 was the best ever with sales up by over 6%, so we had a big sales target to hit in an increasingly volatile grocery market.”
Never Miss a Retail Update!2014 was a pivotal year for Booths as it trialled a ‘Deliver to the Nation’ scheme which delivered orders to remote parts of Scotland, London and the South of England.
Booth added: “The sharp increase in click and collect orders did really stretch us, as it did our competitors. Our staff put in some pretty heroic efforts to get orders out, and I’d like to pay tribute to the supreme efforts made by everyone at Booths. We’ve learned a great deal from this Christmas, and have taken tremendous encouragement from the affection our customers have for Booths.
“With one season of UK delivery under our belt, we’re looking forward to refining and expanding our service in 2015.”
