Department store chain Debenhams has issued an upbeat assessment of its recent performances, claiming its so-called ‘guerrilla marketing’ campaign has helped it steal a march on rivals.
In a trading report released on Wednesday, the company’s chief executive Michael Sharp – who assumed the role after Rob Templeman’s departure earlier this month – said Debenhams’ recent promotional drives had partly mitigated the effects of weak consumer confidence.
Debenhams also revealed that like-for-like sales excluding VAT edged up by 0.4 per cent during the nine weeks to August 27. Sales by value, meanwhile, climbed by 1.5 per cent in the 24 weeks to August 7, although average selling prices surged by almost six per cent.
“We believe our decision to maximise cash profit by investing in top line growth has proven successful and this will result in headline profit before tax for the year coming in ahead of consensus forecasts,” Mr Sharp commented.
Sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion this week revealed its half-year pre-tax profits were up by 21 per cent year-on-year in the six months ending on July 30.
