The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)

Primark and Boohoo next to reveal Christmas sales

-

High street fashion giant Primark and online rival Boohoo will be among the next batch of retailers to report back on their festive fortunes.

Primark figures will be watched closely for how it has fared, after it already warned trading has been “challengin­g” in the run-up to Christmas.

The update from owner Associated British Foods on Thursday will reveal whether it enjoyed a pick-up in the crucial Christmas weeks, given the boost seen by rival Next.

Retail analyst at Numis Securities Simon Bowler is predicting Primark will post a 2% fall in like-for-like sales.

This would come alongside 5% revenue growth, driven by expansion.

He said: “Following the cautious statement on November trading made at the AGM, we have assumed a pick-up in December, as seen with peer Next.”

In November AB Foods reported that like-for-like sales at Primark fell 2.1% in the year to September as bad weather weighed on trading in Europe.

In the group’s annual general meeting update a month later, it warned November had been “tough”, but stuck to its expectatio­n for an increase in profits at Primark as a result of careful inventory management and improved margins.

Boohoo is expected to leave rivals in the shade when it updates tomorrow, with Numis pencilling in 38% growth in its third quarter, which covers the crucial festive season.

It comes after Boohoo booked a 50% rise in sales to £395.3 million in the six months to August 31, while pre-tax profit rocketed 22% to £24.7m.

Christmas is unlikely to have been a cracker for embattled Simply Be owner N Brown, which reports on Thursday.

Mr Bowler is expecting revenues to decline by 0.6% over the Christmas season.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom