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Christmas Sales Report - January 2013
Comment
At FSP, we doubted the doomsayers with their prophecies of more failures this Christmas. With the still floundering economic situation and the generally held opinion that the internet will be the death of retail, they may have had a point. Except this discounted the Darwinian theory of Survival of the Fittest.
The lean years since the retail meltdown in 2008/09 have challenged retailers to innovate and improve, then win and subsequently keep, our custom.
Not surprisingly, the technologically advanced retailers are doing this very well. John Lewis have Click & Collect nailed and whilst this is evident in the increase in their online sales, it is also impacting positively on the group as a whole, with very healthy like-for-like sales over Christmas. Where stores support the online process, ensuring the visit and the attendant customer service is a positive experience will be key not only for the retailers but also for the location. Working to ensure the sum of parts is greater than the whole is essential for shopping centres and more importantly town centres.
Rather more of a surprise is the result from the department stores as a whole. Not so long ago many were sounding the death knell, with these stores seen as the dinosaurs of retail. However John Lewis is not the only winner this Christmas, with House of Fraser and Debenhams posting good positive like-for-likes. The message here is to find your position and stick to it: Debenhams has its strong own brand via designer collaboration; House of Fraser has its house of brands; whilst John Lewis is updating for middle England and at the forefront of integrated online service.
Undoubtedly as more results are published, we will see the strength of those who already recognise that bricks & mortar are as much a support for the online process as profit centres in their own right. FSP will keep you posted with these results with regular updates to this Christmas Sales Report throughout January.
With kind regards
Jo Hewson
Managing Director, FSP
Jo@fspretail.com
To read the full Christmas Sales Report - January 2013, click here.
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