The Works sees sales rise despite supply chain costs
The Works has insisted full-year profits will be in-line with market expectations despite racking up “significant additional costs” to shore up its supply chains.
The Birmingham-headquartered retail chain said it was being affected by “shortages of ocean freight and UK haulage capacity” during the countdown to Christmas, despite investing to secure its supply chain earlier this year.
In its half-year trading update for the 26 weeks ended October 31 2021, the firm said trading has been stronger than expected, with a two-year like-for-like sales increase of 14.5 per cent and total two-year sales growth of 17.9 per cent.
Online sales have continued to be about double those in the comparable 2020 period.
The books and crafts chain has shops across the Black Country, Shropshire and Staffordshire.
It opened three new stores, closed five and relocated four stores, trading from 526 stores at the end of the half-year period.
Gavin Peck, CEO of the books and crafts chain which has shops across the region, said: "It's clear from these results that our products resonated extremely well with customers during the pandemic, helping them to read, learn, play and craft through lockdown.
"Our strong sales in recent months demonstrate that demand has been maintained and customers continue to value our offer. It's particularly pleasing to see that whilst our online sales continue to run at almost double their pre-pandemic levels, store sales are also growing.
"Looking ahead, we have a fantastic range of products for our customers this Christmas with initial demand for them already very strong. We are cautiously optimistic about prospects for our peak sales season and our ability to trade through the ongoing supply chain challenges faced by the majority of our sector.
"As we celebrate our 40th year, I am proud of the business that The Works has become and of our colleagues who work incredibly hard to delight our customers and support one another."
