Very Group revenues dip amid ‘tough UK retail climate’

Very Group has reported a 3.8% decrease in total revenues to £1.60bn for the 39-week period ended 29 March 2025.

Its UK revenues, which represents 88% of group revenues, also fell by 2.5% to £1.40bn, despite seeing a strong result within its Home category with growth of 8.9%, and 24.6% growth in its sports offering.

The group attributed the decline in sales to a “rough retail climate across the UK”.

In the year to date, group retail sales declined by 3.9% year-on-year to £1.26bn from (Q3 FY24 YTD: £1.31bn). Within this, Very UK retail sales also declined by 2.4% year-on-year to £1.08bn (Q3 FY24 YTD: £1.10bn).

Its Toys, Gifts, and Beauty category was measured against a particularly strong comparative year, during which the company made significant investments. Despite this, the category continued to perform well, posting only a modest year-on-year decline of 0.2%.

Notably, sub-category performance was positive, with Toys growing by 3.1% and Beauty increasing by 5.3%. Similarly, its Home category’s 8.9% growth was driven primarily by strong demand for home accessories, textiles, and bedroom furniture.

In contrast, its Electrical category, Very UK’s largest, experienced a year-on-year decline of 4.4%. This decrease reflected the impact of annualising against a previous quarter that had “benefited from major gaming product launches”.

Meanwhile, its adjusted EBITDA increased by £22.1m or 11.4% to £215.4m (Q3 FY24: £193.3m), demonstrating improved earnings in the underlying business as a result of the improved gross margin and ongoing diligent cost control.

Looking ahead, Very Group said: “As we continue to focus on higher margin sales and cost discipline through the remainder of FY25, we expect to see a continued strengthening of the profitability of our business.”