// Card Factory witnesses a “shift of customer spend back towards the high street and reversal of lockdown effects”
// Store revenue grew 81.8% while online sales were down year-on-year
Card Factory has reported a “strong performance” after a shift of customer spend back towards the high street.
The greeting cards retailer recorded a revenue growth of 4.1% for the six months ended 31 July.
Store revenue grew 81.8% while online sales were down year-on-year as customers returned to the high street.
Card Factory recorded EBITDA of £43.8 million compared to £23.6 million in HY22 as it continued to be “effective in managing inflationary headwinds through a combination of efficiency measures and targeted price increases”.
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Card Factory said it “successfully completed” refinancing providing liquidity headroom to deliver strategy.
The retailer said it expects to face continued wage inflation going forward, benefits from pricing actions will be more weighted towards H2 and into FY24.
Card Factory said it is confident it will manage the inflationary pressures through a combination of targeted price increases and efficiency measures.
It said its expectations for the remainder of FY23 are unchanged.
The retailer opened six new stores in the Republic of Ireland and opened its first small format trial store in central London, with a second opened since the end of the period.
It is now in the final preparations for its Click & Collect trial launch in 84 stores.
“We are pleased to report a strong performance through the half which reflects continued good momentum within the business, as well as the reversal of lockdown trends with customers choosing to return to the high street,” Card Factory CEO, Darcy Willson-Rymer said.
“The pronounced shift in spend back towards stores supports our continued conviction in the value of our store estate within our customer proposition and as an enabler in our omnichannel ambitions.
“During the half, we have made good strategic progress as we focus on evolving our customer proposition across different channels and taking it to new markets.
“The inflationary pressures we are all facing into are well known, however the pre-emptive actions we have taken, such as the fixing of energy costs until September 2024 and targeted price increases, have helped to offset these.
“Despite these ongoing challenges, we remain confident that our customers will continue to want to celebrate life’s moments and that value for money is increasingly important to them.
“Whilst we remain mindful of the challenging economic backdrop as we head towards the Christmas season, we feel well placed to navigate this and retain our focus on transitioning Card Factory to a market leading omnichannel retailer of cards and gifts.”
