Online fashion retailer Shop Direct has delivered robust Christmas results, despite being up against strong comparatives, and has appointed an interim chief executive.
The star performer for Shop Direct in the seven weeks ended 22 December was its Very.co.uk brand, which accounts for the lion’s share of revenue for the group.
Group revenue was up by 6.3% year-on-year, driven by 16.8% growth at Very, its largest and fastest growing retail brand. An increase in mobile sales also continued, with 73% of online sales coming from mobile devices, up from 68% during the same period in 2016.
Revenue at the Littlewoods, meanwhile, was down 12.6% year-on-year, in line with the strategy of profitable, managed decline for the brand.
Group CEO Alex Baldock, said the company achieved another “record-breaking” Christmas for Shop Direct, on the heels of 9% growth last year and 6% in 2015.
“Once again, Very was the star of the show, with sales outpacing the UK online retail market. Our early focus on mobile continues to pay off, as it heads towards three quarters of our sales. Our long-term investments in data and technology continued, with an easier and more tailored Christmas shopping experience for our customers, particularly on mobile devices.”
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By GlobalDataBaldock, whose departure was announced in October 2017, will now be replaced by finance chief Derek Harding on an interim basis. Baldock will leave the business at the end of January.
Sofie Willmott, senior retail analyst at GlobalData, hailed Shop Direct’s performance, despite being challenged by rising selling prices and Amazon’s dominance in the online retailer sector.
“Shop Direct’s flexible and varied payment options make it an appealing choice when buying higher priced products at Christmas, at a time when shopper budgets are already under pressure. This coupled with its focus on mobile – 73% of online sales were generated on mobile devices versus 68% last year, puts the retailer in a good position to face the challenging retail environment in 2018 and keep one step ahead of its rivals.”
