Results round-up: How high street retailers performed during the Golden Quarter
A raft of major high street firms, including Superdrug, Marks & Spencer, Boots and NEXT, have recently released their trading updates for some or all of the important golden quarter.
The figures shed light on how consumer spending held up this Christmas, with some signs of resilience, despite many businesses warning of price hikes amid soaring costs linked to the Autumn Budget in April.
TheIndustry.beauty takes a look at who the festive success stories are so far, and which high street retailers have appeared more downbeat.
NEXT
NEXT was among the first retailers to provide a Christmas update and impressed the markets after lifting its profit guidance due to higher sales.
The business, which runs hundreds of UK stores, revealed a better-than-expected 5.7% rise in full-price sales for its fourth quarter so far. As a result, it said profits are expected to rise by around 10% for the year.
However, the UK-based company suggested that sales growth could slow in the new financial year amid pressure on household finances.
It was also among high street firms to warn that its prices would rise in 2025 due to the impact of recent Budget measures, with CEO Lord Simon Wolfson emphasising that the tax changes and national insurance hikes could make it "harder and harder for people to enter the workforce".
NEXT's wage bill is set to rise by £70 million, and Lord Wolfson explained this would lead to a cut in the number of employee hours worked – either through fewer workers or fewer hours per employee.
Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer saw growth over the Christmas period, with sales up 5.6% in the 13 weeks to 28 December, boosted by a "strong" performance in food and a more modest uptick across fashion, beauty and home.
The department store achieved £4.06 billion in sales, with CEO Stuart Machin saying there is opportunity for further growth in home and beauty while its resurgent fashion division had taken further market share.
Machin described the performance a "another good Christmas for Marks & Spencer", but cautioned on challenging market conditions ahead.
He warned that the economic picture "remained uncertain" for the coming year, taking the shine off its bumper sales growth. The retailer vowed to pass on "as little as possible" amid speculation that a £120 million jump in costs following the Autumn Budget could impact prices for customers.
"What people forget is you’re constantly doing a three-year plan, and when you get these surprises… you have to rework your plan all over again," added Machin, following the trading update earlier this month.
Boots
Boots delivered an 8.1% increase in sales for the first quarter ending 30 November 2024, bolstered by an "exceptional" Black Friday period.
The health and beauty retailer saw sales rise 20% during Black Friday week, with fragrance, beauty and gifting among the top selling categories. On the Friday itself, the company's website achieved its biggest-ever day of sales, with almost five orders per second during its busiest hour.
Boots.com performed strongly during the quarter, with sales up 23%, accounting for 22% of total retail sales. Meanwhile, Price Advantage remained popular, contributing to a 3.5% increase in active members and over 700,000 more customers joining the programme in Q1.
Beauty sales increased 11% year-on-year, driven by demand for fragrance, premium beauty and skincare. The high street chain saw partricualy significant growth in Korean skincare and celebrated one year since launching its premium and professional haircare category.
Additionally, more customers were choosing own-brand products across vitamins, supplements and beauty
Superdrug
Superdrug delivered a 5.1% increase in sales for the final weeks of 2024, attributed to the ongoing popularity of its own-brand ranges during the festive period.
The health and beauty retailer revealed that one gift set was sold every second throughout December as four new own-brand ranges were added, contributing to record demand.
Haircare was also one of the fastest growing and most successful categories, indicating that consumers enjoyed styling for festive occasions and gifting electricals.
Meanwhile, fragrance performed well as customers enjoyed taking advice from fragrance providers within stores and wellbeing saw a rise as shoppers sought to ward off winter bugs and prepare for the New Year.
By channel, Superdrug delivered significant online growth, with sales up 21% year-on-year, as customers continued to benefit from the high street chain's relaunched Health & Beautycard VIP Rewards App and various delivery options. Retail parks were the best performing offline stores in terms of growth.
The Fragrance Shop
The Fragrance Shop reported a 4.6% increase in sales for the five weeks ending 28 December 2024, supported by "record-breaking" achievements both in-store and online.
Top products included Dior’s Sauvage, which led the men’s category, and Carolina Herrera’s Good Girl, reflecting continued demand for premium fragrance offerings.
The high street chain reported "exceptional" in-store activity over the festive period, with traffic soaring by 98.5% compared to an average day. It comes after The Fragrance Shop continued its expansion strategy in 2024, opening six new stores and completing three upsize refurbishments.
Looking ahead, the retailer remains committed to enhancing its store estate, blending innovative digital tools with elevated in-store experiences. As part of this, 2025 marks the start of the retailer's international expansion, with its first international store set to open in Dublin this year.
Its updated app, designed to deliver a personalised shopping experience for customers, is also "top priority" for the business in 2025 as it strengthens its omni-channel offering.
The Perfume Shop
The Perfume Shop achieved another successful Christmas, with two million bottles sold between 28 November and 24 December 2024, highlighting the popularity of perfume as a classic festive gifting option.
The British retailer said promotional deals proved especially popular, with the busiest online day of the season on 1 December, achieving a 5% increase compared to 2023. Meanwhile, the busiest hour was in the evening of 18 December, beating previous records set over Black Friday.
The high street chain also experienced a "significant" last-minute rush, with online sales of gift sets delivering a 54% increase in the final full week before Christmas 2024.
Click & Collect and Next Day Delivery orders in the 14 days to Christmas were up 10%, while the retailer's recent partnership with Deliveroo generated "impressive" results.
It follows a successful year for The Perfume Shop, having unveiled eight new store openings in 2024, as well as 32 modernised experiential stores across the UK and Ireland.
Poundland
Pepco Group noted a challenging trading environment at Poundland during the first quarter ending 31 December, driven by a weak general merchandise performance and tough market conditions.
The company delivered revenues of €1.9 billion (£1.6 billion), down 1.1%, with a "positive" performance at Pepco and Dealz offset by continued challenges at Poundland during the festive period.
Pepco Group noted continued challenges for Poundland, amid a more difficult sales environment and consumer backdrop in the UK, alongside margin pressure and an increasingly higher operating cost environment.
The value retailer saw revenues decline 7.3% and reported a net closure of 11 shops, primarily reflecting lease expirations on larger stores. It will not open any net new stores during the remaining quarters.
Pepco Group is continuing a "comprehensive assessment" of Poundland to recover trading and get the business back to its core strengths, including a thorough assessment of all costs across the business, as well as evaluating its overall competitive positioning.
