Mamas & Papas enjoyed a very Merry Christmas, posting like-for-like sales at an 18% increase to £12m for the six weeks to January 3.
On 27 December, the babycare retailer recorded its best trading day in history, selling an unprecedented number of child car seats in a week, and enough pushchairs to equal one every 10 minutes a store was open
The figures hint that a turnaround is on the cards for the Yorkshire-based brand company, which returned to profitability in the second half of the financial year.
In the 12 months to March 29 2015, the Mamas & Papas reported an operating profit of £91,000 before one-off costs, compared with a £5.7m loss in 2014, on maintained sales at £137.6m, slightly lower than the £137.7m recorded the year before.
Turnover in the UK increased to £107.8m, from £104.5m, of which £88.6m related to retail sales.
“Our strong performance this Christmas underlines the strength of the turnaround at Mamas & Papas,” said Executive Chairman Derek Lovelock. “The first phase of the strategic plan, which included a fundamental restructure of the business, was completed at pace. Like the rest of the business, the UK retail estate is now trading well, outperforming business plan expectations and delivering robust like-for-like sales growth. We expect growth in both revenue and profit to be maintained.”
The company is to invest in a flagship store in London‘s West end Westfield, as well as launch a new e-commerce platform this year.
“Investment in global product launches continue to drive double-digit growth in our key categories of travel, home and clothing,” added Lovelock. “The new sourcing strategy for clothing has enabled us to maintain our premium quality position while passing on lower prices to our customers.”
