Findel upbeat as sales rise 8%, current trading is strong

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Oct 17, 2018

Value retailer Findel issued a trading statement on Wednesday ahead of its interim results due late next month and it seems that it’s doing just fine, echoing the strength currently being seen across much of the value sector as UK consumers look for bargains.

The company, which specialises in gifts but also sells low-price clothing though its Studio.co.uk operation, said revenue rose 8% in the first 28 weeks of the year.

And it said that while growth in Q2 was slower than in Q1, which could have been a worrying sign, it has “seen a much stronger response from customers in recent weeks as we start the peak trading period ahead of Black Friday and the Christmas period.”

As a result, its expectations for full-year progress on revenue, margins and profit are unchanged.

In June, the company had hailed its clothing operations saying that this part of its business performed strongly in its last financial year, with over half of new customers buying from the fashion range during the period.

The Manchester-based business said clothing sales rose by 14.2% in the year to March, and accounted for 28.9% of sales, so it will be interesting to see whether this percentage has moved upwards (or even downwards) for the latest period.