Selfridges experienced the most profitable hour in its history as shoppers turned out in their thousands for post-Christmas deals.
Crowds appeared outside Selfridges stores across Britain, in some cases as early as 1am, to take advantage of Boxing Day sales. The dense crowds were a welcome reappearance as recent sales events have seen high street retailers losing customers to online stores.
The result was an intake of just over £2m by 10am from tills alone, a 2% rise on Selfridges‘ previous record for its most profitable hour.
“It is encouraging to see High Streets performing significantly better than Boxing Day last year,” said Diane Wehrle, Insights Director at Springboard. She called the sales “surprisingly positive” as the influx of foreign shoppers and mild weather helped to boost profits.
It would seem that Selfridges means to end the year on as high a note as it started: in November the chain revealed results marking the 12 months to the end of January 2015 as its most profitable financial year of all time, with operating profits rising by 4% to £155m.
The store has credited its success to its growing online presence as well as its continuing focus on luxury fashion brands.
Selfridges currently trades from four stores in the UK. Recently it has invested over £300m on overhauling its flagship store on Oxford Street, London.
