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Primark, the discount fashion chain, and Mothercare, the baby and children's retailer, emerged as the big winners from an otherwise
gloomy Christmas trading season on the high street, with both businesses recording strong festive sales.
According to The Times, Primark saw sales surge by 18 per cent over the 16 weeks to January 3, with its core like-for-like revenue, which does not count sales from stores opened during the period, up an estimated 4.4 per cent.
Mothercare reported group sales up by 7.2 per cent in the 13 weeks to January 9, with like-for-like trade up 0.9 per cent. Its share rose 2.7 per cent to 380p.
Mothercare's trade was boosted by strong trade from its overseas stores which now total 1,000 sites after the company continued to expand in December.
Mothercare and Primark's results were in stark contrast to the rest of the high street which has been slowing because of cash-strapped consumers' increasing reluctance to spend as the economy grinds towards a full-blown recession and unemployment surges.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has forecast that the retail sector will shed up to 40,000 jobs in the early months of 2009, and figures revealed that sales fell by 3.3 per cent in December.
Source: The Times
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