Matalan online sales soar 25% in Q2 as shoppers embrace summer range

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Oct 8, 2018

Matalan, the low-cost family retailer, has unveiled a strong online performance for the second quarter boosted by surging demand for summer clothing.

Revenues increased by just 0.9% to £262.4m in the 13 weeks to 25 August 2018, but the brand’s online channel delivered a 25% increase as shoppers went online to stock up on summer essentials during the UK heatwave.

The retailer said its collection performed “extremely well” in the spring and summer, and a reduction in discounts helped it boost full-price sales by over 3%.

The results match those of rival Next, which announced a better-than-expected 2.8% increase in second quarter sales due to the prolonged warm weather in July and August.

“The second quarter’s results reflect a solid performance in what continues to be a volatile and challenging market,” said Matalan CEO Jason Hargreaves.

“Our offer performed extremely well in the spring, with a reduction in discounts and healthy growth of over 3% in full price sales in the summer period. Our unique combination of design, quality and value continues to resonate with customers and has outperformed the wider market.”

EBITDA for the period increased to £22.8m from £22.7m a year earlier, and the company said its good operational discipline enabled it to absorb “significant” current pressure in the first half of the year. But the market is expected to remain challenging, as consumers continue to hold on to their cash amid intense political and economic uncertainty.

“We don’t expect the difficult market conditions or consumer confidence to improve in the short term. However, we remain confident in our strategy, focused on execution and believe this will continue to drive outperformance to the market,” said Hargreaves.

Additionally, the company has continued to invest in its store portfolio, with a further 73 stores undergoing refurbishment over the second quarter. In total, Matalan has 227 stores in the UK and 30 overseas franchise locations.