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A sales recovery at PrettyLittleThing has helped push Debenhams Group back into growth during its first quarter ending 31 May 2026.
The digital retail group reported that overall gross merchandise value rose 0.5% year on year, supported by an 8% trading surge in May. The performance was led by the core Debenhams brand and PrettyLittleThing, reversing previous declines alongside minor improvements at Boohoo, BoohooMan, and Karen Millen.
The brand recoveries drove an expansion in group gross margin to 53.5%, up from 52.1% in the prior year. Customer returns across the portfolio also dropped by approximately 5% during the three-month period.
Financial efficiency gains accompanied the sales turnaround, with first-quarter exceptional costs falling by 72% and capital expenditure declining 54% year on year.
The group has now transitioned all its fashion labels, including PrettyLittleThing, to a single proprietary platform and an asset-light marketplace model. This shift has integrated roughly 25,000 external brand partners into the company’s retail ecosystem.
Management expects the trading momentum to deliver double-digit percentage growth in full-year underlying earnings, building on the £53m guided for fiscal year 2026.
Group chief executive of Debenhams Group Dan Finley said: “Debenhams Group has returned to growth, and Q1 marks the inflection point we have been working towards. Group GMV grew 0.5% year on year – with May trading particularly strong at around 8%, led by the Debenhams brand and PrettyLittleThing.”
Finley added: “This is the result of the heavy lifting of our multi-year turnaround: the move to an asset light marketplace model, the warehouse consolidation, the cost reset, and the rebuild of every brand on a single proprietary platform.”
