Upholstered furniture and floorings retailer ScS has revealed a 13.2% increase of in gross sales. Revenue grew 13.4% year-on-year to £276.7m, whilst gross profit increased by 12.5% to £127m.
“We are encouraged by our trading performance since the start of the current financial year and we are in line with our expectations,” said Chief Executive David Knight. “However, we remain mindful that we continue to face strong comparatives during the remainder of the first half of the year and that a number of key trading periods are ahead of us.”
Cautious optimism is certainly appropriate. Since launching in July, 2014, the House of Fraser concessions have generated gross sales of £21.2m, despite initial losses. The company has also opened three new stores, bringing its total estate to 96.
During the period, ScS launched a new e-commerce platform, along with a bespoke House of Fraser For Living website, and has seen online gross sales rise by 25.4% to £8.4m. In the current market it is likely that the proportion of ScS‘s profits that come from online sales will continue to increase.
“With a strong brand, broad product range with good consumer appeal, an excellent network of well-invested stores, with an opportunity to expand, from our existing geographic footprint, and growth from the continued development of the House of Fraser concession, the Group has a clear growth strategy. We lo