DFS posts uplift in sales
Furniture retailer DFS has reported a 19% increase in gross sales in the twenty four weeks to 13 December.
In a pre-close interim trading update, the retailer said its performance was boosted by a 76% uplift in online sales in the period.
DFS said the sales growth was the result of a strong order intake growth during its first quarter, although this fell by 5% year-on-year in the first 11 weeks of its second quarter due to its showrooms being closed in November during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Subject to the extent of showroom closures and based upon cautious order intake assumptions of -15% for the second half of the financial year, DFS sid it would expect that its full year profit before tax and brand amortisation would be within the upper half of the current market consensus range.
Tim Stacey, DFS group chief executive, said: “I want to thank every colleague in our group for their resilience, spirit and determination to overcome the many and varied operational challenges that we have faced since reopening our business after the first lockdown.
“We are working all hours focusing on what we can control to look after our people and our customers. I want to thank our customers for their patience given the ongoing disruption to our deliveries due to port congestion and raw material shortages, as well as apologise to those that have experienced delays.
“While the current environment is clearly unpredictable, our business model is resilient and we are well set for medium term growth.”
