mobanmarketUpmarket London store Liberty has shrugged off the poor Christmas trading reported by other rivals, reporting a 14.2 per cent sales increase between December 1 and Christmas Eve. In the first full week of the post Christmas sale, the Regent Street retailer saw volumes up by more than 5 per cent.
Liberty owner Retail Stores said the December sales increase “reflects Liberty’s increasing popularity as a destination shopping venue” following a revamp of both the the retail offer and management team over the past year. The company stressed that volumes were not boosted by aggressive discounting or pre-Christmas sales.
Four key product areas all performed strongly: beauty and cosmetics; ladies accessories; jewellery and menswear. There was also a strong performance from Liberty’s revamped home department. Retail Stores said its December results built on a 10 per cent increase in sales across the 26 weeks to December 25. The result was achieved without substantial markdown, and with fashion stock levels in the first week of sale in line with expectations. Liberty’s average transaction value has increased by 13 per cent year-on-year.
Iain Renwick, chief executive, said: “December’s performance has been most encouraging in view of the generally difficult retailing environment. Over the past six months we have seen steadily increasing sales volumes as the hard work behind the scenes to reposition Liberty as London’s destination store has borne fruit. Liberty Chairman Richard Balfour-Lynn said: “We hope to reinvigorate the Liberty brand the emporium is becoming one of London’s most exciting and rewarding places to shop.”