// Selfridges’ full-year sales rise 6% year-on-year to £1.85bn
// However, operating profits slipped from £175m to £170m, due to investment in flagship store
// Selfridges credited its customer experience initiatives as well as new beauty and accessories halls for sales growth
Selfridges’ has credited its range of customer experience initiatives and investment in its accessories category as it posted its sixth consecutive year of sales growth.
For its financial year ending February, the luxury department store retailer booked a six per cent year-on-year uptick in full-year sales to £1.85 billion.
However, operating profits dropped marginally £175 million to £170 million, which Selfridges attributed to investment in its famous Oxford Street flagship in London.
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Nonetheless, experiential elements, the new 60,000sq ft Accessories Hall in the London flagship, the new Beauty Hall in Manchester, and the launch of a new menswear floor in London with a focus on streetwear brands were all credited for driving shoppers and boosting sales.
Some of the experiential elements Selfridges has invested in includes a giant crystal-encrusted Pegasus by artist Damien Hirst within a brand new in-store restaurant and an indoor skating bowl that came with professional skateboarders offering lessons.
The retailer also confirmed that its Oxford Street flagship will soon become the only department store in the world to house a permanent cinema, slated to open in November.
“The business has delivered excellent results for 2018,” Selfridges group managing director Anne Pitcher said.
“Into 2019 and beyond we will strive to remain at the forefront of experiences as we disrupt and reimagine the world of retail.”
Selfridges managing director Simon Forster said: “We wanted to create an experience, we design a space thinking about how we can make it amazing and only then do we build products and brands around it.”
Selfridges operates from four stores in London, Manchester and Birmingham as well as an online shop that ships to 130 countries.
The retailer is owned and run by the Weston family, which also owns Fortnum & Mason and Heal’s and has a majority stake in the AB Foods, the parent company of Primark.
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