Total UK sales have dropped by 2.1 per cent at Mothercare during its first quarter, with sales impacted by “unseasonable weather” during the period. Some 84% of online traffic to the Mothercare site comes via mobile, while the channel also accounts for 61% of online sales.
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Mothercare’s turnaround plan appears to be gaining momentum after the retailer reported a solid start to the year, helped in part by the timing of Ramadan. That lifted domestic like-for-like sales by 1.2%, though including the effect of store closures, United Kingdom sales fell 2.1%. Sales through the website grew 6.4pc in the quarter, with the web making up more than two-thirds of total sales.
Chief executive Mark Newton-Jones said: “In the United Kingdom sales were impacted by unseasonable weather; this resulted in bringing our end-of-season sale forward by one week”.
“We continued with our refurbishment of stores in the quarter and continued to improve our customers’ shopping experience both instore and online”.
Internationally, Mr Newton-Jones flagged that the timing of Ramadan gave the firm a boost, but warned of a choppy year ahead.
Newton-Jones, who has been trying to revive the mother-and-baby retailer by refurbishing stores and growing online sales, said there had been no immediate reaction to the Brexit vote.
Mark Newton-Jones, Mothercare’s chief executive, said he expects “continued volatility” in Mothercare’s worldwide business. “We hedge both dollar purchases and royalty receipts and we expect limited impact on our financial results this year”, Chief Executive Mark Newton-Jones said in a statement.
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“Our vision remains clear – to be the leading global retailer for parents and young children”.
