Record sales spur Mountain Warehouse to open 50 stores
MOUNTAIN WAREHOUSE shrugged off retail gloom with plans to open 50 shops after record sales and profits.
Retailers including Boots, Marks & Spencer and Debenhams are scrambling to shut stores as they try to balance falling sales with soaring property costs, but Mountain Warehouse reasserted its confidence in the high street.
The outdoor clothing retailer said “it’s no secret that many retailers are finding it tough going” but it had taken advantage of the shake-out by securing units rivals wanted to close and negotiating better terms with landlords.
Mark Neale, who founded the business 23 years ago, said Mountain Warehouse had recently opened in former New Look stores including in St Andrews, a target for the past decade.
“If we didn’t have shops, no one would know we exist – it’s all about creating customer awareness,” he said. “We have a lot of shops in market towns where people spend a weekend or holiday and might need a raincoat if it starts raining, and Amazon isn’t going to help you with that.
“A lot is said about the shops that are closing and the job losses, but not much about the stores that are replacing them on a more piecemeal basis.”
The company, which now has almost 350 shops, posted a 13pc rise in sales to £255m for the year to February while pre-tax profits grew by 14pc to £23.7m. Like-for-like sales, at stores open for more than a year, grew by 5.3pc.
Online activity accounts for a quarter of sales, while its international business makes up almost a third. Around 20 of the new shops will be in the UK with the rest in Europe, North America and New Zealand.
Mountain Warehouse is doubling its womenswear ranges as part of efforts to be less reliant on winter fleeces and skiwear. Mr Neale also plans to open 10 more Neon Sheep gift shops after their popularity with teenagers, saying: “We have high hopes for the business.”