Mothercare upbeat despite fall in overseas sales
20th July 2017
The global retailer for parents and young children, Mothercare PLC says it is making progress despite taking a hit in international sales.
According to the company's trading update for the quarter to July 2017 UK like for like sales were up 1.9 per cent and online sales grew by 3.3 per cent.
However total UK sales fell by fell by 1.8 per cent and international sales were down 8.3 per cent. This was driven by continued weakness in the Middle East.
The group opened 26 stores and closed 43 during the period. It now has 147 outlets in the UK.
Mark Newton-Jones, CEO of Mothercare PLC, said "We have continued to make progress in the UK during the period. We have seen customers respond well to our end of season sale, which we entered with less stock than last year, and are achieving a higher sell through rate.
"Whilst online sales recorded a lower growth, in contrast to higher sales growth in store, we don't believe this represents an underlying permanent shift in customer behaviour.
"We are about to launch our autumn ranges, but it remains uncertain how consumers will respond to inflation.
"In our International business, the challenging economic conditions in the Middle East continue and are impacting overall performance, and so the outlook remains volatile."
Picture: Pixabay
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