HoF sees two year growth of 12 per cent
Birmingham refurb hits trading in current year
June 20 2002
House of Fraser has reported a like-for-like sales increase of 4 per cent in the first half of the year.
In advance of the department store operator’s annual shareholder’s meeting, chief executive John Coleman said that the Group has maintained two year sales growth of 12 per cent.
The slowdown in sales from 8 per cent last year will disappoint the City, but Coleman pointed out that the comparison was with last year’s busiest trading period.
The first stage of the refurbishment of the group’s largest store, Rackhams in Birmingham, has also had a material affect on trade. Total group sales, reflecting the impact of the Birmingham disruption, were up by 2.9 per cent in the first 20 weeks of the financial year.
Coleman said: “This performance represents continued delivery of our strategy. The period we are reporting is up against the strongest part of last year. We continue to deliver a successful branded proposition to the market. With the bulk of sales coming in the critical second half period including Christmas, we remain confident of a positive performance for the year.”
