UK's Mothercare reports slight sales growth in fourth quarter

By

Cajsa Lykke Carlson

Published
Apr 16, 2015

Sales grew both in the UK and internationally for British maternity and kidswear retailer Mothercare in its fourth quarter to March 28. The company today reported worldwide sales growth of 4.1% and international retail sales growth of 11.4%.

Total sales in the UK were up by 1.5% and like-for-like sales increased by 5.1%, as the retailer said it was beginning to see some benefit from initiatives taken over the year.

International space rose by 9% to 2.9m sqft. and Mothercare now has 1,273 stores abroad. In the UK, space was down by 4.5% to 1.7m ft² of space and 189 stores, as space rationalisation has continued as planned.

Online sales were up 32% during the quarter and now represent c. 30% of UK sales, up from c. 25% last year. There has been a 31% increase in mobile sales, and click-and-collect now runs at c.36% of total online orders.

Mark Newton-Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Mothercare, said: "The final quarter is in line with our plan. In the UK our strategy of reducing promotional and discount activity and returning to being a full price retailer has continued to stabilise margins."

"Over the last year, we have made good progress with our strategic plan. It is still early days in our turnaround, but we are putting the foundations in place by modernising and investing in our business. Our International business will continue to be challenged by ongoing global economic and foreign currency volatility and the UK will have to anniversary our new trading strategy during the year ahead."