Card Factory says it is seeing a “gradual improvement” in sales as it gears up for the busy Christmas period.
The Wakefield firm has issued a trading update which showed that two-year like-for-like sales in the quarter to October 31 were down 3%. Average basket value over that period was 22.5% above pre-pandemic levels, offsetting a 20.9% fall in transaction numbers.
Card Factory said it had accelerated the introduction of Christmas products into around 350 stores, though it had seen supply chain issues with a “relatively small proportion” of its products.
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It added that recruitment of seasonal store staff was going well.
Darcy Willson-Rymer, CEO, said: “We continue to see improved performance of the business as customers steadily return to shopping in stores. This gives us confidence as we engage to realise the refreshed strategy and build our omnichannel offering.
“We look forward to the future and the continued implementation of our strategy. We are confident that the group is well placed to take advantage of the growth opportunities available to it.”
The company operates more than 1,000 Card Factory stores around the UK as well as websites for the business and its gifting firm Getting Personal. It had a tough pandemic, at one point warning that was at risk of breaching its debt covenants before arranging alternative finance.
In today’s statement it said its net debt at October 31 was £108.4m. That is down from the figure of £142.5m seen a year ago, with the company pointing out that debt is typically high at this part of the year due to advance purchasing of stock for the Christmas season.
