Wickes enjoys strong sales growth as customers seek 'value, convenience and speed'

Retail delivered another period of strong sales growth, with revenue up 6.2%, driven by a continued increase in volumes, in a mildly deflationary pricing environment enabling the group to grow market share to a 'new record level'.

Within Retail, TradePro continued to outperform, with sales up 8% year-on-year, as local trade professionals turned to Wickes to save them time and money. Active TradePro members increased by 11% year-on-year to 643,000. DIY sales were in mid-single digit growth, with volumes driven by increasing customer transactions.

The company says momentum within Design & Installation continued, with revenue increasing by 6.9%, as customers react positively to the enhancements it has made to its kitchen and bathroom proposition. Ordered sales have remained in growth for 5 consecutive quarters, and delivered sales have now been in positive growth for 3 consecutive quarters, with LFL growth in the second half of 6.1%. Overall, when both Retail and Design & Installation revenue are combined, the group took £1,636m over the year.

Wickes' investment in its strategic growth levers is continuing, with the opening of new stores in Southport and Northampton Riverside during Q4, bringing the total new stores for the year to 5. In addition, the company completed one full store refit and refreshed a further 5 stores in H2, with c.83% of the store estate now in the new format.

Wickes chief executive David Wood said: "This has been another period of good sales growth for Wickes, underlining a year of strong progress against our strategy. Pleasingly, growth has been volume-driven across the business, with customers turning to Wickes for value, convenience and speed. Our Design & Installation customers have responded well to the enhancements to our offer, enabling us to build on the sales momentum we have established this year. As we continue to invest in our growth levers, we remain on track to meet market expectations for the full year and look forward to supporting even more customers with their home improvement projects in the year ahead."