Fortnum & Mason announces today a record-breaking trading performance in the 2018 Christmas period. Driven by an ever-increasing number of domestic customers and supported by impressive growth of 16% year-on-year in its international audience, Fortnum’s experienced more than 12% year-on-year growth in the five-week period ending December 31, with double digit growth across all channels.
Hospitality saw the greatest increase on last year of 15%, while the flagship Piccadilly store achieved 10%. Fortnum’s new restaurant and store at The Royal Exchange, which only opened in November, delivered an outstanding performance, and in the week prior to Christmas, recorded the highest weekly sales across all stores outside of Piccadilly.
Ewan Venters, CEO of Fortnum & Mason, said: “We have always believed that quality products, exceptional service and an extraordinary retail environment is what makes us stand out. In this day and age, it is more important than ever to be unique, and our exceptional Christmas results demonstrate that. Our hard work in delivering the brand’s values on a more international level, coinciding with the release of the first ever Fortnum’s Christmas film, The Masters of Merry, has further propelled Fortnum’s status as a cherished global brand.”
Online sales represented a significant 37% of total sales at Christmas, and, overall, the final week prior to Christmas saw more than 23% growth, suggesting many customers are doing their shopping later in the period. The increasing popularity of online shopping and our last- minute delivery service has allowed customers to have the confidence that they can receive their gifts and shopping closer to Christmas. And in the month of December, 83% of all sales at the Piccadilly store were from domestic customers.
Mr Venters added: “We’re thrilled at the growth in sales across all channels. Whether it’s champagne, truffles, caviar or tea and biscuits; our results are evidence that there is demand for quality products and unique experience. The exceptional performance of our restaurants clearly show experience is key. We’re incredibly proud that despite the uncertain economic times, our customers, too, have demonstrated their social responsibility, with our support of StreetSmart delivering a total donation of £53,939.
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