Upmarket grocer Fortnum & Mason enjoyed a 21% increase in sales over the five weeks to 26 December after attracting four million customers across all channels, one million more than in 2019.
The business saw strong year-on-year online growth (particularly on mobile devices) of 65% in December as the working from home guidance was introduced amid Covid uncertainty.
Meanwhile, the group also revealed its results for the year to 11 July 2021, which were impacted restrictions and national lockdowns during the pandemic. This led to sharply reduced footfall at the Fortnum’s flagship Piccadilly store and other UK sites at Royal Exchange, St Pancras and Heathrow, and its store in Hong Kong.
With sales at the Piccadilly store and hospitality outlets traditionally accounting for 80% of revenues, overall turnover was consequently down 6% at £132m.
However, its online activities benefitted from pandemic-related shopping treads with sales increasing strongly and accounting for 55% of total revenues. The retailer revealed that the greatest demand was seen in Wines, Home Entertaining, Fresh & Deli and Hampers as customers increased gifting, worked from home more, and took staycations. Growing online demand, coupled with continued investment into our digital acceleration, saw the business acquire 500,000 new customers during the year.
Meanwhile, profits at Fortnum & Mason were impacted by the fall in retail sales, increases in supply chain costs, and a decision to prioritise the welfare of staff and not seek support from the Government’s furlough scheme. The business reported pre-tax losses of £2.7m, down from a £0.6m profit the previous year.
“I have been so impressed with the agility of the Fortnum’s team as we reacted to a first-changing world and in particular the performance of our digital channels,” said Fortnum & Mason’s Chief Executive Tom Athron.
“As a direct result, we have expanded the brand’s reach and welcomed many new customers and encouragingly this trend has continued since we reopened our shops and restaurants in the summer of 2021 – we now have a domestic business that has almost doubled in size over the pandemic.
“Christmas was exceptionally strong as customers put us at the heart of their plans to properly celebrate.
“Looking ahead, the broader outlook remains uncertain and we are seeing the same cost pressures materialise, as others in our market have reported.
“However, I am confident that 2022 will be an exciting year for Fortnum’s, building on this momentum with continued investment in our Piccadilly flagship as well as our technology capabilities and increased capacity to support the growth in demand, both here and overseas.”
