Wickes’ online sales grew strongly in the opening months of the year, thanks to the introduction of one-hour click and collect, its owner Travis Perkins said today.
The DIY multichannel retailer drove Travis Perkins’ consumer sales growth of 8.7% in the first quarter of 2015, compared to the same time last year. Like-for-like sales, stripping out the effect of store openings and closures, were up by 6%. As well as introducing in-store collection one hour after the order is placed online, the company has also invested in lower prices and is trialling a number of new format stores.
“The Wickes team have built on the positive customer feedback and success of 2014 and continued to take market share,” said Travis Perkins chief executive John Carter.
Across its business, Travis Perkins, which alongside Wickes operates the builder’s merchant of the same name and a plumbing and heating division, reported 7.2% growth in sales in the first quarter of 2015. Like-for-like sales, which strip out the effect of store openings and closures, were up by 5.1%. Taking a longer timescale, the company said that like-for-like sales had grown by 18.4% compared with the same period two years ago.
Carter said: “Our three priorities for the year ahead remain unchanged; the modernisation of Travis Perkins, the transformation of Wickes, and the re-segmentation of the plumbing and heating businesses. The progress we are making underpins our confidence that the plans we have in place and the investments we are making will support further outperformance of our markets, medium-term double-digit operating profit growth and continued growth in return on capital.”
