Mothercare like-for-likes fall despite uplift online
Mothercare’s UK like-for-like sales dropped by 2.8% in its fourth quarter after trading was impacted by reduced footfall in its stores.
Online sales grew by 2.1% in the 12 weeks to 24 March as purchases on its own website increased by 7.2%.
International retail sales were 3.7% down in constant currency due to lower market footfall and the timing of promotional activity in Russia. Growth seen in the Middle East in the third quarter continued in the latest 12 week period.
David Wood, chief executive of Mothercare, said: “The UK retail trading environment remained relatively muted in the quarter, with a continuing trend of lower footfall in stores, though there was an encouraging return to growth online, with website sales in particular growing at 7.2%. In this competitive climate, promotional activity has been necessary to stimulate customer demand.”
Mothercare has been having a difficult time and has been working to bring down its costs while implementing a planned strategy of reducing its UK store estate. In addition, it is currently in negotiations regarding its financing needs and additional sources of funds.
Wood added: “We remain in constructive dialogue with our financing partners with respect to our financing needs for FY19 and beyond, and we continue to explore additional sources of financing to support and maintain the momentum of our transformation programme. All of these discussions are on-going and further updates will be given as appropriate.”
