Clothing retailer Jigsaw said a 39 per cent increase in online sales over the festive period and resisting markdowns have helped boost sales at the business.
The retailer said like-for-like sales increased 17 per cent in the five weeks to December. The retailer also said sales in the year to September 28 increased 7 per cent to £64.2 million with internet sales on its Jigsaw-Online.com site rising 36 per cent.
The improvement in performance follows the arrival of former John Lewis executive Peter Ruis who was praised for turning around the department stores fashion business.
'We are pleased with the progress we have made during this period. Trading conditions remain challenging but we are optimistic for the current financial year. The focus will be on continuing to bring innovation to our customers, in both bricks and clicks, enhanced by significant investment over the next 12 months,' said Ruis, Jigsaw chief executive in a statement.
Net profit in the full year rose 21 per cent to £1.9 million. Net trading margin increased 160 basis points.
Ruis told one newspaper today: 'We had a Black Friday event and then we stuck to our guns, and it really started to go right around December 15, onwards. The last weeks leading up to Christmas were amazing. It was a combination of holding our nerve, and we invested heavily in stock for the last three to four weeks before Christmas.'
Ruis arrived just months before it emerged that Jigsaw owners John and Belle Robinson have split up. Belle told the Daily Mail in September the couple had 'drifted apart' and would divorce eventually'.
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