Wickes hails year of ‘excellent growth’
DIY retailer Wickes has increased its full year revenue by 14% to £1.53 billion after it benefited from range development, an enhanced service proposition and a strong digital performance.
In the 53 weeks to 1 January 2022, adjusted pre-tax profit grew to £85 million from £49.5 million in the previous year.
During the period, Wickes accelerated its store refit programme and now expects to complete this within five years. It has also identified opportunities for new stores with the potential for up to 20 new stores over the same period,
Wickes said “Do it for me” orders strengthened over the course of the financial year, especially from the second quarter. However, the ability to convert the increase into delivered sales was hampered in the final quarter by the onset of the Omicron variant, which impacted both the availability of installation teams and the willingness of customers to have tradesmen in their homes. When combined with an elevated pipeline of orders from earlier in the year, this means the retailer’s year-end order book more than doubled on a two year basis.
David Wood, Wickes chief executive, said: “I am delighted to report a year of excellent growth. Our performance is testament to the resilience and hard work of our colleagues, our strong supplier relationships, uniquely balanced business model and market leading customer proposition.
“Our strategy is delivering strong growth and return on investment. The results we are seeing, plus these strong returns, give us confidence to accelerate our investments to drive further growth.”
Looking ahead, Wickes said it is well-placed to capitalise on the ongoing enthusiasm for home improvements in the UK.
Wood added: “While we recognise the pressure that consumers will be facing in 2022, we have the right model, a strong pipeline and order book, and remain confident of making further progress in the current year driven by a material increase in DIFM revenues.”
