Including Sports Direct seeing profits slump 57% due to ‘exchange rate deterioration’.
The Source rounds up some of the key retail stories of the week.
Sports Direct has seen its underlying pre-tax profit drop 57% to £71.6 million for the 26 weeks to October 23. Reported pre-tax profit fell 25.1% to £140.2 million. The retailer attributed the loss to the ‘significant deterioration in exchange rates’ since the Brexit vote. However, Sports Direct is still splashing out $51.1 million on a ‘corporate’ plane.
John Lewis saw sales grow 3.9% for the seven days ending December 3, reaching £172.1 million. Electricals and home technology continued to benefit from final Black Friday promotions, with sales up 14.9%. However, fashion and home both fell, 2.3% and 1.4% respectively. Furniture sales increased 7.7%.
Amazon has launched a bricks and mortar grocery store in Seattle which links purchases to shoppers’ mobiles, meaning they can simply pick up items and leave. Amazon Go will require shoppers to download an app and scan their phone on entering. CCTV footage and sensors will be used to track which items have been taken off shelves to buy.
Joules has seen a jump in sales for the 26 weeks to November 27, reaching £81.4 million. Retail revenue also rose 15.8% to £56.7 million, while wholesale growth was up 17.2% to £24.5 million. The retailer put the good performance down to its growing footprint and customer base, as well as strong sales of its core and new ranges.
Figures from Mastercard have shown that spending on Black Friday was up 2.3% year on year across the retail sector. This puts growth notably behind previous years – in 2015 sales grew 9% and in 2014 they increased 17.5%.
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