Boux Avenue, Ryman and Robert Dyas report growth in Christmas sales
Boux Avenue, the lingerie retailer owned by the Theo Paphitis Retail Group, saw its like-for-like sales rise by 16.6% in the run-up to Christmas.
The increase in the six weeks to 24 December follows on from an 8.9% uplift in the same period in 2015.
Boux Avenue currently has 28 stores in the UK.
Also within the Theo Paphitis Group, stationery retailer Ryman grew its like-for-like sales by 1.4% in the period while homewares retailer Robert Dyas saw a 2% increase. The group’s recently acquired London Graphic Centre achieved growth of 8% on last year.
Paphitis said: “Once again, we observed the further shift of our customers to purchasing online with growth in this channel across the group being over 50% ahead of last year. Like last year, we saw multiple peaks, with Black Friday being a key event in the UK retail calendar.
“Retail is facing many challenges, particularly with a decline in footfall on many high streets, but at the same time we see opportunities that come with the continued development of technology that makes shopping as convenient for customers as it has ever been.
“We will continue to invest in this area to ensure that our much-loved brands interact with customers in ways that suits them best.”
In the full year to 26 March, Boux Avenue increased its total sales from £36.5 million to £44.4 million. Gross profit rose by £5.1 million while EBITDA loss reduced to £1.7 million from £2.9 million in 2015.
At Ryman, EBITDA was £9.6 million compared to £10.1 million a year earlier. Turnover fell to £127.7 million from £131 million due to store closures at lease expiry.
Meanwhile, turnover decreased to £125.5 million to £120 million year-on-year at Robert Dyas while underlying EBITDA reduced from £7 million to £1.5 million.
The group said Robert Dyas had experienced a challenging year due to a change of management team, investment in a new warehouse and logistics centre, and the introduction of new technology.
It added: “This unfortunately resulted in disruption to our supply chain and business in general, impacting our financial performance in the short term. The warehouse is now fully settled and costs running to expectations, helping drive strong growth in particularly e-commerce as seen over the Christmas trading period.“
