Very reports record Christmas sales

Online retailer Very has reported record sales during the important Christmas trading period.

For the seven weeks up to and including 25 December 2020, retail sales increased 25.2 percent year-on-year, while sales via the Very mobile app were up 33 percent.

The retailer, which is owned by The Very Group, also gained over 500,000 new customers during the period, up 25.5 percent year-on-year.

Fashion and sports sales increased 4.1 percent during the period, driven by women's sportswear (37.6 percent), men's sportswear (22.2 percent) and kids sportswear (33.1 percent).

Strong online sales at Very

Overall group revenue grew 15.3 percent to surpass 500 million pounds for the period for the first time.

During the Black Friday promotional period - from 6 November to 2 December - the company increased retail sales by 25.8 percent, while web traffic jumped 55 percent, representing the retailer’s best Black Friday period to date.

“We are delighted with Very's outstanding performance, which shows UK families were more determined than ever to celebrate this Christmas, despite all the challenges of 2020,” said The Very Group CEO Henry Birch in a statement.

“Our record-breaking performance was supported by our new fulfilment centre, which processed 3.9m orders during peak; an incredible achievement for a facility that only launched in March this year, when the first national lockdown was announced.

“While the economic picture remains unpredictable, we have strong momentum as we begin the year. I believe our resilient, flexible and proven business model, which is online, multicategory and offers customers flexible payment options, will continue to help us thrive in 2021.”

Photo credit: Very, Facebook