Merchant to enter second phase of cosmetics pilot

Merchant Retail will launch a second phase of a trial of its fledgling cosmetics business next spring. The skincare and make-up format, modelled on stablemate The Perfume Shop, is being piloted in Merchant's department store division.

An announcement on plans to take The Perfume Shop to Australia is anticipated in June.

Merchant's interim sales rose 8 per cent to£69.4 million, while group pre-tax profits climbed 25 per cent to£3.2 million. The Perfume Shop was the star, delivering like-for-like growth of 13 per cent. Department store sales fell 4 per cent to£34.7 million and pre-tax profit plunged 26 per cent to£1.7 million.