Revamp trials for Mothercare

Mothercare is testing three levels of shopfit spend to discover how best to take its 173 high street stores forward.

The retailer began trials last month, following the success of a Hammersmith store, which opened last year with a£100 per sq ft spend. Now three levels of spend are being assessed - one shop at£50 per sq ft, four at£25 per sq ft and four at£15 per sq ft.

Chief executive Ben Gordon said the revamps were being complemented by an edited product range. 'The high street stores have been underinvested in. Some have not been refitted for 12 years,' he revealed.

Last week, Mothercare revealed preliminary group sales up 1.1 per cent to£431.7 million and a pre-tax loss of£24.8 million.