Fortnum & Mason has announced record sales and profits for the financial year 14/15, boosted by the new, fully-responsive website it launched in April.
The exotic food and gifts retailer achieved sales of £88m in the 12 months to July, increasing profits by £5m. The new site, which can handle complex orders and deliver to over 130 countries, helped online sales jump 22% while like-for-like sales grew 13%.
The 300 year-old company has a flagship in London‘s Piccadilly Circus and a second UK store in London‘s St Pancras station which was opened in 2013. Fortnum‘s has continued to expand, with retail space in Heathrow Airport‘s Terminal 5 and also Dubai.
The upmarket department store has been pushing for domestic customers to come in store and, lately, has been succeeding. Londoners used to account for less than 30% of the customers, now they‘re more than 60%.
“All the signs suggest we are going to have our best festive season on record,” said Chairman Kate Hobhouse.
“Looking to the future, we know we can‘t afford to rest on our laurels and we will continue to invest in the business to provide our customers with the best possible experience, in-stores and online.“
