Luxury London-based store Fortnum and Mason have seen record sales in the run-up to Christmas, after benefiting from a boost in online activity.
The luxury goods store, which opened its doors in 1707, posted a 12 percent rise in sales to £98.7 million on Monday, with profits totaling £6.2 million for the year.
In addition, the store has seen a growth in business across the last three years, with sales doubling. A return of UK based customers to the brand made up 60 percent of shoppers for the year to July 10.
Announcing the strong set of figures, the company said that, “at the end of a year of political upheaval and financial uncertainty… timeless quality is still in demand in all corners of the world”.
Specifically, the department store saw strong sales within its online business and a sustained popularity of their famous monogrammed hampers. The hampers saw a 17 percent rise in sales across the period, with each hamper retailing between £50-1000.
Similarly, the company anticipated a busy holiday season. Mr Venters, Fortum’s chief executive, said profits would be “driven by sales of our world-famous hampers and of our Christmas food”.
Mr Venters was less enthused by the ‘Black Friday’ concept, which stormed UK retailers last week and led to John Lewis posting a record £200 million profit across the weekend. He stated:
“I think Black Friday is one of the saddest American imports ever”, labeling it as “entirely charmless.”.
Despite opting out of offering the discounts, the store did see a rise of 19 percent in footfall as a result of the Friday event.
Mr Venters was also keen to emphasise the British heritage of the famous Piccadilly based store, which also has concession locations in St Pancras and Heathrow airport.
“Every pound spent in Fortnums is a pound spent supporting the UK economy”, Mr Venters said.
“Around 70 percent of goods sold by Fortnums is made in Britain”.
Visit Fortnum and Mason’s festive pop-up Lodge at Somerset House Skate this Christmas for one of their famous hot chocolates.