Shares in women’s budget retailer Bonmarche (LON:BON) rose nearly 6 percent in early trading on Wednesday, after a trading update showed a strong start to the year.
Sales for the 14 weeks ended 1 April 2017 increased by 2.7 percent on the same period last year. Like-for-like sales in-store decreased by 0.5 percent, but this was offset by a 15.2 percent rise in online sales.
The first quarter of the year shows an improvement on the full year figures, which show like-for-likes sales drop by 4.3 percent and online sales grew by 2.2 percent.
Helen Connolly, Chief Executive Officer of Bonmarche, acknowledged that post-Christmas trading conditions had been “challenging” but fitted with the group’s previous guidance:
“Store like-for like sales were negative in January but stronger during February and March, and we also saw the resumption of growth in online sales following improvements made to our online offering”, Connolly said.
“Whilst we expect the apparel market to remain challenging during the coming financial year, we are actively taking measures to improve our proposition to customers.
“We remain confident that Bonmarché remains unique in its ability to serve the needs of its target market and that the successful implementation of our plan will allow us to deliver growth in FY18, despite the challenging market”, she concluded.
Shares in Bonmarche are currently trading up 5.27 percent at 78.95 (0930GMT).