Sales bloom at Wyvale
Christmas products boost garden centre operator
January 8 2004
Strong sales of Chrsitmas trees topped of a healthy year of sales growth for garden centre operator Wyvale.
Like-for-like sales increased by 5.7 per cent over the nine weeks to December 28, ending a fourth quarter in which like-for-like sales increased by 7.9 per cent overall.
Wyevale, the UK’s largest garden centre operator, said that group sales for the full year increased by 7.7 per cent. In the second half, sales grew by 6.5 per cent, with like-for-likes up by 3.6 per cent.
The long hot summer generated good sales of garden furniture and barbeques, but hit sales of plants, pushing down like-for-likes in the third quarter before the sales recovery in the last three months of the year.
Wyvale said it expects full-year profit to be broadly in line with forecasts.
