Christmas updates from Debenhams, House of Fraser and John Lewis told wildly differing stories about seasonal trading.
Christmas updates from Debenhams, House of Fraser and John Lewis told wildly differing stories about seasonal trading.
While John Lewis reported a “huge surge” in the final 10 days, poor old Debenhams said it “did not experience the anticipated final surge in sales in the last week”.
And while House of Fraser celebrated a record Christmas and enhanced cash margins, Debs took the red pen to profit forecasts in expectation of a margin decline of between 80 and 100 basis points.
There are a variety of reasons for department store groups’ varying fortunes but high levels of discounting across retail before Christmas took a toll on Debs whose own promotions clearly failed to stand out.
The extent of discounting raises the prospect that Debenhams will not be the only retailer to take a hit, and margin rather than simply sales is likely to one of the big stories of this festive period.
Tomorrow brings a seasonal update from Next, a retailer well-known for its refusal to cut prices outside its established Sale periods. What it has to say is likely to be a key pointer to the experiences of other retailers.
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