Debenhams Group has hailed continued sales growth across June and July as its shift towards a marketplace-led model begins to deliver.
The group, formerly known as Boohoo Group, said gross merchandise value had continued to grow year on year after returning to growth during its first quarter.
Sales margins have also improved, while customer return rates have fallen.
Chief executive Dan Finley said the group’s platform model and broader product assortment had allowed it to react quickly to changing customer demand, with Debenhams benefiting particularly from the recent spell of hot weather.
“Our platform model and diversified product assortment enables us to pivot quickly and capitalise on consumer demand,” he said.
The group has increasingly transformed Debenhams into an online marketplace, allowing third-party brands to sell through its platform without the group taking on the same level of stock risk associated with a traditional retail model.
Debenhams Group said its Young Fashion division was also showing signs of recovery, with PrettyLittleThing returning to both growth and profitability. The company also owns Boohoo, BoohooMan and Karen Millen.
The group expects net debt to be “materially lower” during the current financial year, supported by stronger trading and the sale of its remaining non-core property assets.
Management believes Debenhams could eventually become a multi-billion-pound GMV business generating more than £100m in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.
The latest update follows two profit forecast upgrades in recent months as the retailer’s turnaround gathers momentum.
Boohoo Group changed its corporate name to Debenhams Group in 2025 as it placed the former department store brand at the centre of its strategy.
The business acquired Debenhams’ brand and online operations out of administration for £55m in 2021, but did not take on its physical store estate.
Finley is seeking to rebuild the wider group around a less stock-intensive marketplace model after several difficult years marked by falling sales, supply chain pressures and intense competition from lower-cost fashion rivals.
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