Out-of-town discount clothes retailer Matalan has seen sales soar over the past half-year as shoppers took advantage of its bargain offers, the group said today.
During the half-year the group opened new stores in Sutton, South Manchester, Weymouth and Crayford and extended its Stratford stores trading space. It is developing nine new stores in the second half, an increase on its eight new shops last year. Matalan has 92 stores in total.
Shares rocketed 18% as the retailer, which sells low-priced brands including Versace, Calvin Klein and Wonderbra, along with own-label goods, said it had attracted a record number of new shoppers.
Matalan charges customers a £1 fee to become a lifetime “member” before they can start shopping in the stores. It added 567,500 new customers during the half year, bringing its database to more than 3.6m.
The database allows the group to target homes which are not already Matalan members.
Pretax profits for the 26 weeks were £16.4m, up from £4.7m for the 27 weeks to July last year. Turnover was £149.3m, up from £119.1m.
EGi News 01/09/99
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