Card Factory sales up 7.9% ahead of Christmas
Card Factory saw its total sales rise by 7.9% in the nine months to 31 October as the greeting cards retailer continued its store roll out with the opening of 45 net new stores in the period.
As well as the launch of new stores, the increase was driven by a rise in like-for-like sales and growth in Card Factory’s online business.
Nine net new stores were opened in the third quarter, bringing a total of 45 net new store openings in the year to date. This brought the total estate to 809 stores as at 31 October 2015. Card Factory said it remains on track to deliver approximately 50 net new stores in the current financial year.
Card Factory’s principal online business, Getting Personal, continued to achieve “good” levels of growth in the third quarter although the business is now facing more challenging comparative figures having delivered 27.1% revenue growth in the second half of last year.
Richard Hayes, Card Factory’s chief executive, said: “We have seen another period of consistent performance across the group as we continue to drive growth from existing and new stores, as well as our expanding online operations. We are well prepared for the important, competitive Christmas period, and remain confident of our ability to continue to increase market share whilst delivering on all four pillars of our growth strategy.”
