Card Factory‘s pre-tax profit for the year end 31 January almost doubled to £83.7m from £42.7m the previous year. Where are those party poppers?
The greeting cards and gifts retailer, which focuses on the value and mid-market segments of the market, continued to roll out new stores (50 in the period) and cited a strong pipeline of additional store opportunities in the future.
Online, Card Factory‘s relaunched website is “progressing well”, with fivefold sales increase over prior year and overall online revenue growth of 22.8%.
“This has been another excellent year for Card Factory,” said CEO Richard Hayes. “We have continued to expand our store portfolio and grow our market share, and our complementary online sales channels are progressing very well. We have maintained our industry-leading margins and believe that we are better placed than most to manage the increased cost pressures that our sector is facing. Our strong cash generation has allowed us to deliver excellent returns to shareholders by returning surplus funds through both ordinary and special dividends.
I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to lead Card Factory through an exciting period of growth and change. It is a very strong business with a great team of people who have all contributed to growing the business from a small chain of discount stores to a vertically integrated high margin value retailer with over 800 stores nationwide and two transactional websites. I would like, again, to welcome my successor Karen Hubbard, and to wish her and the team every success for the future.”
Hubbard, who joins from discounter B&M, is currently settling in to her new role.Card Factory is the UK‘s leading specialist retailer of greeting cards, dressings and gifts. It focuses on the value and mid-market segments of the UK‘s large and resilient greeting cards market, and also offers a wide range of other quality products, including small gifts and gift dressings, at affordable prices. Card Factory principally operates through its nationwide chain of over 800 Card Factory
