Up-to-date coverage of the latest events in UK retail.
7:29am Farfetch sales rocket in “blockbuster” year
Farfetch has reported soaring sales in what founder, chief executive and co-chair José Neves described as a “blockbuster” year.
Gross merchandise value rose from $909.8m in 2017 to $1.4bn for the 12 months to December 31, 2018. Revenues rose from $385.9m to $602.3m.
Losses after tax swelled from $112.2m to $155.5m.
Neves said: “By all measures, 2018 was a blockbuster year for Farfetch. We continued to lead the online personal luxury goods market, growing GMV 55% for the year – more than twice as fast as the industry.
“Over the next ten years, the luxury industry is expected to grow to an estimated $500 billion, and online sales will potentially grow to represent an incremental $100 billion opportunity. Farfetch is uniquely positioned to capture the lion’s share of this opportunity.”
7:15am Pepkor Europe’s revenues soar
Pepkor Europe’s sales rose over the last quarter with growth driven by Pepco and Poundland sales broadly flat.
Pepco sales rocketed 36.7% to €477m with store numbers up 20.6% to 1,569 in its first quarter, the three months to December 29, 2018.
Poundland sales nudged up 0.6% to €516m with stores up 0.2% to 882. Overall, group revenues rose 14.6%.
Pepkor Europe chief executive Andy Bond said: “With a clear strategy in place and a strong financial base we remain excited about our prospects for continued growth across Europe in the balance of the financial year and beyond.”
7:07am Gap to shut 230 stores with Old Navy standalone business
Gap is to shut 230 stores over the next two years as it splits off its Old Navy business in a bid to “revitalise” it.
The two new publicly-listed companies will be run as entirely separate entities.
The store closures will be mainly in the US although it is unclear which stores will close and how many jobs will be lost.