Hobbycraft posts drop in full year sales
Hobbycraft saw its total revenue decline by 8.6% to £176.9 million in the 53 weeks to 21 February after trading was impacted by Covid-19 store closures.
Like-for-like sales were also down, falling by 10.5%, while stores sales dropped by £53.3 million although this was partly mitigated by 151.8% growth in online sales.
Meanwhile, adjusted EBITDA was 7.2% lower than in the prior year at £13.8 million.
Giving an update on trading since its shops reopened on 12 April, the retailer said total like-for-like sales were up 15.3% in the subsequent weeks to 27 June compared to two years ago before the pandemic. It also revealed that it is planning to open seven new stores across the UK and Northern Ireland in the current financial year in places such as Leicester, Belfast and Exeter.
Dominic Jordan, chief executive of Hobbycraft, said: “I am delighted to report that since our stores reopened in April 2021 we have delivered double-digit like-for-like sales growth compared to pre-pandemic levels two years ago. This performance underlines the strength and breadth of our offer as we trade positively in stores and sustain the strong ecommerce growth we generated in lockdown.”
“As the UK’s largest arts and craft retailer, we look forward to continuing our growth plans in FY22 by further enhancing our product range and online proposition, opening new stores and hiring new retail colleagues whilst we capture market share in the UK’s rapidly growing craft sector.”
