Mothercare sales down 10.2% in UK
Mother and baby products retailer Mothercare has reported a 4.4% fall in its first quarter total group sales as its UK business continues to struggle amid “challenging” trading conditions.
In the 15 weeks ending 14 July, UK total sales dropped 10.2% while UK like-for-like sales fell by 6.7%. UK Direct in Home sales were down 7.1%.
Mothercare said the results were in line with its three year transformation and growth plan which was progressing well. The UK store restructuring programme, which targets the largest loss-making stores first, had resulted in a reduction of 16 stores. In addition the moving of the Mothercare website to a new platform in May is beginning to deliver results with positive sales growth seen in the last five weeks.
International retail sales were up 11% in the quarter while worldwide newtwork sales rose 1.1%. The company said it had performed well in Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa but trade in Europe had been weaker with a slight decline in sales.
In line with plans, Mothercare opened 25 stores outside the UK including its 100th store in Saudi Arabia. This took the total of number of overseas stores to 1,053. The company said it was confident that it would deliver on its international growth targets based on the forward store opening plans from its franchise partners.
Alan Parker, Mothercare chairman commented: “First quarter results were in line with our overall plans despite challenging trading conditions in the UK and the Eurozone. We have made good progress implementing the three-year Transformation and Growth plan with benefits to accrue during the second half of the year, as expected. International growth continues to offset weaker trading in the UK.”
Parker added: “We remain confident about the delivery of our three-year Transformation and Growth plan with the cost reduction programme on track.”
