FatFace saw customers return in-store both in the first half of its financial year and even more so in the run up to Christmas – while also going online to buy. The retailer says sales grew by 9% in the first half of its year – and by 34% in the five weeks to January 7 2023.
The fashion and lifestyle brand, ranked Top100 in RXUK Top500 research, says it succeeded in maintaining full price sales up until Christmas and then saw its best ever week once its sale launched on Boxing Day – when the website saw 2m visits.
Half-year and Christmas figures
The update comes as FatFace today reports sales of £136m in the 26 weeks to November 26 2022. That’s 9% up on the same time last year, with sales rising both in store (+8% to £83m; +10% like-for-like (LFL)) and online (+13% to £53m). Some 39% of sales took place online. Sales in its North American business grew by 18%, to account for 8% of total sales, thanks to what FatFace describes as a “thriving ecommerce offering and well-positioned store estate”.
Over the half year its customer database grew 16% to reach 1.8m.
In the five weeks to January 7, sales were 34% up on last year, as still more shoppers came in-store (+47% LFL) while online also grew (+26%). North America sales grew by 15%, as the retailer focused both on winning new customers and on ecommerce growth.
Multichannel strategy
FatFace says digital growth has been supported by investment both in digital capabilities and operations. That includes the launch of live shopping and a personalisation service. Its pet accessories range has expanded and the retailer has also started working with Thrift+ to give shoppers the opportunity to extend the life of unwanted clothes.
FatFace chief executive Will Crumbie says: “This is a strong set of Christmas trading results and reflects both our fantastic peak product proposition and the hard work and efforts of the FatFace crew. A huge thank you to all of our teams. The period has demonstrated again the strength of the multichannel model with the 10 days pre-Christmas trading being particularly strong in stores.
“Despite the highly promotional market, we maintained our full price proposition right up to Christmas. Our Boxing Day Sale and the week following Christmas was the best trading week in Fatface history, with nearly 2m visits to the website in the week. Looking back at our performance in the first half of the financial year, we have continued to build on our progress with great success: investing in our digital capabilities, enhancing the experience in our stores and developing our North American offering to customers across the pond.
“As we look ahead, despite the ongoing macroeconomic challenges, we have good momentum and our mission remains the same – to keep designing, producing and selling great quality clothes that our customers love.”
FatFace sells online and through more than 180 UK shops and 24 in the US.
