Crew Clothing Says Click and Collect 'Instant Hit'

Casual fashion chain Crew Clothing says its click and collect offer, introduced last year, helped grow sales from busy customers who have less time for shopping.

The chain said the new delivery option helped increase sales by 20 per cent in the 10 weeks to January 5, compared to the same period last year, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Finance director Justin Hampshire said: 'We have invested significantly in our multichannel offering. [Click and collect] was an instant hit. Our customers are busy people. With click and collect they can come in, perhaps try on their purchases, and they're out.'

Crew began as a catalogue retailer but now has 78 shops. Sales at the chain, which is owned by founder Alistair Parker-Swift, a professional skier and windsurfer, and private equity firm Isis, are expected to hit £52 million this year.

Hampshire said a 20 per cent off sale at the beginning of December helped increase sales but insisted that Crew 'didn't have to mark down to levels that would really hurt margins.'