Card Factory targets “underpenetrated markets”
Card Factory has said it is continuing to focus on expanding within “underpenetrated markets” with the launch of three smaller format trial stores in London.
The greetings card retailer is also pursuing its expansion efforts in the Republic of Ireland.
Space realignment across 750 stores, display reorganisation in 50 stores, and an updated store design for new and existing sites make up the retailer’s ‘store evolution programme’.
This announcement comes as part of the retailer’s preliminary results for the year ending January 31 2023.
During this period, the retailer opened 33 stores and closed 21, including five relocations. At the end of the financial year, Card Factory’s portfolio stood at 1,032 stores including 27 in the Republic of Ireland.
Simon Comer, Card Factory interim chief financial officer, said that optimisation of the store portfolio continues to be an “important source of sales growth”.
Over the 2023 financial year, the retailer enjoyed an increase in revenue over 2022 of 27.1% to £463.2m, and a huge rise in profit before tax of 368.5% to £52.4m.
Online sales saw a year-on-year fall of 18.8%, with Card Factory citing both a return to the high street for many customers as well as the impact of Royal Mail strikes over the festive period. However these sales were still above pre-Pandemic levels by 86.4%.
Darcy Willson-Rymer, Card Factory chief executive officer, said: “Whilst remaining mindful of the ongoing impact of the cost of living crisis on our customers, we are confident that we are well positioned to make good progress in our transition to becoming the market leading omnichannel retailer of cards and gifts.”