Although profits at Cardfactory dropped 43.3% year-on-year in the first half-year, for the six months to 31 July – due to increases in the National Living Wage, as well as freight inflation and the phasing of strategic investments – the retail multiple has reported an increase in sales of gifts.
Last week’s interim report revealed that gifts and celebration essentials saw a growth of 6% like-for-like sales and was the key driver of revenue growth, with Cardfactory continuing to introduce new products and expand existing gifting categories, to include a baby gifting range. Soft toy sales were up 27% like-for-like, confectionery rose 30%, and limited collections, such as Disney and licensed ranges, saw an 17% increase. Cardfactory.co.uk revenue growth was 8.8%.
Looking ahead, Cardfactory’s expectations for the full year remain unchanged. In the medium term, the board remains confident in seizing growth opportunities for the business, which will help deliver on its FY27 targets, which also remain unchanged.
Darcy Willson-Rymer, Card Factory’s ceo, commented: “During the period, we continued to see strong performance across our growing store estate, with gifts and celebration essentials now a core driver of revenue growth, building on our strength in greetings cards.”
He added: “We are well prepared for our key Christmas trading period, with our seasonal rollout now underway. 80% of our entire seasonal range is new this Christmas, including new toys, the introduction of a baby’s first Christmas rangeand an exclusive own-label pet gifting range. We have also expanded ranges across own label and limited collections such as Disney.”
Top: Cardfactory is seeing gift sales grow.
