
In its Christmas trading report, Very Group stated that its main Very operation saw “strong” trading growth, “driven by exceptional sales in [the] Home and Toys, Gifts & Beauty categories.”
According to the corporation, which also owns the historic Littlewoods brand, Very UK delivered retail sales growth of 2.3 per cent year over year in the seven weeks leading up to December 27, “supporting group retail sales growth of 0.5 per cent.” Although Littlewoods’ exact numbers were not provided, the company’s total statistic indicates that its performance was poor because the company is still concentrating all of its resources on Very.
Very UK and group retail sales increased by 4.5 per cent and 2.8 per cent, respectively, when the effect of Nike sales was removed.
In order to eliminate the distortion brought on by the winding down of Nike stock, the figures do not include sales from the current or previous year when the company decided to transition to a direct-to-consumer business model.
Although the gain in Fashion & Sports was less striking at 2.9 per cent, the category as a whole—excluding Nike—rose 11.2 per cent, and the fact that it climbed at all was positive given the current climate. Among Fashion & Sports, menswear was a powerful segment.
Very kept up its next-day delivery service during the busy time, with a cut-off of 7 p.m. on December 23 for deliveries before Christmas, in contrast to some businesses who had rather early cut-off times.
“We expect YoY adjusted EBITDA growth of 16 per cent-18 per cent due to our strong retail trading and ongoing cost management,” the company stated.