Wickes welcomes strong Q3 as retail sales rise 6.7%
Design and Installation revenue growth also strengthened to 7.8% and hit £107.6m
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Wickes has welcomed a “strong” Q3 as its retail sales outperformed the market, with group revenues up by 6.9% year-on-year to £420.1m, bolstered by volume-led growth.
Retail revenues rose by 6.7% to £312.5m, driven by a sustained increase in volumes, combined with stable pricing, while Design and Installation revenue growth strengthened to 7.8%, with sales hitting £107.6m.
In its latest update, the group said its faster Click and Collect time of 15 minutes, which had previously been 30 minutes, has been “very popular”, with Click and Collect sales up 18% year-on-year in Q3.
The group also rolled out Wickes Rapid over the period, offering up to 800kg deliveries to home or site, within three hours.
TradePro also continued to perform strongly, with sales up 8% year-on-year, driven by an increase in active TradePro members to 632,000.
DIY sales were meanwhile in mid-single digit growth again, with volumes driven by increasing customer transactions.
Over the quarter the group opened two new stores in Bury St Edmunds and Dunfermline, and plans to open a further two stores in Q4, totalling five for the year.
Alongside these openings it has continued its refit programme, with a further two stores refreshed in the quarter.
Elsewhere, the group said it is “stepping up” its investment in SaaS technology, which will reportedly increase P&L costs by around £10m on a full-year basis, but “enhance the customer experience further and support productivity initiatives”, positioning it for future profitable growth.
David Wood, CEO of Wickes, said: ”This has been another strong period for Wickes, with sales driven by an increase in volumes. Within Retail, our continued outperformance has seen us take further market share.
“In Design and Installation, the changes made to our offer are showing through in increased demand and ongoing momentum. Looking ahead, we remain well-placed for the full year as we continue to support our customers across all their home improvement projects.”
