// Card Factory sales dropped but revenues raked in at above expectations
// Like-for-like sales were down 21.6% year-on-year since June 15
// The retailer had expected sales to drop by 50%
Card Factory has seen its sales decline while revenues were recorded at above expectations since stores reopened last month.
The greetings card and gifting retailer said like-for-like sales were down by 21.6 per cent year-on-year since June 15, compared to an expected drop of 50 per cent.
Despite transactions decreasing since 2019, Card Factory’s average spend had risen by 24.9 per cent during the period.
READ MORE:
- Card Factory CEO Karen Hubbard resigns
- Card Factory full-year profits falls but Covid-19 sees online sales skyrocket 302%
Meanwhile, online sales had jumped amid the Covid-19 crisis as like-for-likes through its two main ecommerce channels were up 68.9 per cent in its financial year to-date.
During lockdown, Card Factory’s online like-for-like sales had skyrocketed by 120.7 per cent.
Across the first half of its financial year, covering the six months to July 31, Card Factory said it expected revenue to come in at around £100 million, representing a 48.9 per cent drop on last year’s £195.6 million.
While Card Factory said it was “pleased” with that performance, it warned that it was “far too soon to determine whether initial trading reflects the release of pent-up demand”.
Card Factory said it aimed to reach annual sales of £635 million and an underlying pre-tax profit of £105 million in the next five years.
Other plans include expanding its share of the UK greeting card market to 45 per cent.
Last month, Card Factory chief executive Karen Hubbard announced her sudden resignation, which saw the retailer immediately begin searching for her successor.
Hubbard’s departure meant there would no women at the helm of FTSE-listed retailers.
Card Factory chairman Paul Moody took the role of executive chair upon Hubbard’s resignation, with an additional £30,000 per month fee added on top of his normal £144,000 chairman fee.
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