Fortnum & Mason has emerged as a Christmas winner after its famous hampers, sold through a revamped website, proved popular with growing numbers of customers around the world.
The London department store, founded in 1707, said like-for-like sales were 15% up over the key Christmas period, the five weeks to 3 January. This pushed annual profits up 31% to £5m. Fortnum said it recorded the best trading day in its history on 15 December.
Online sales were particularly strong, up 38% year-on-year, after the firm redesigned its website. Sales of hampers rose 26% as it dispatched products to a record number of countries.
The group’s expansion beyond its traditional base in Piccadilly appears to have paid off. Fortnum’s flagship London store delivered the highest sales total, but the biggest percentage increase came from its store at Heathrow’s Terminal 5, where sales rose 63%. Its store at St Pancras International railway station posted 14% growth.
Ewan Venters, chief executive of Fortnum, which is owned by the Weston family that controls Associated British Foods, described 2015 as a “very significant year for the company”. He added: “At a challenging time for all retailers, we have shown that a quality offering, both online and in store, is still highly attractive to customers around the world.”
