Mountain Warehouse on track for bumper year of profits as Christmas and Black Friday sales climb

Outdoor clothing retailer Mountain Warehouse said this morning that it was on course for record full-year profits after reporting a bumper Black Friday and Christmas trading performance.

The firm defied the swathe of poor trading results among its retail peers today after saying that sales jumped nearly 12 per cent to £84.7m in the 13 weeks to 6 January.

Total sales on Black Friday grew by 20 per cent, bolstered by a 47 per cent rise in online revenue. Online sales on the day of discounting passed £1m for the first time in the firm’s 21-year history.

“The business is continuing to perform strongly despite the economic backdrop,” said Mark Neale, the firm’s founder and chief executive.

He added: “The prior year’s performance was exceptional due to the cold weather and widespread snow we saw in the run up to Christmas 2017 I’m therefore really pleased to report this record performance despite the unusually mild weather we experienced.This puts us well on course for another record year and as a result we are continuing to invest in more stores, new territories and our online business.”

Nearly a million fleeces and over 500,000 winter jackets flew off the shelves at Mountain Warehouse during the 13-week festive period, with customers also buying more than 400,000 pairs of gloves. The firm said that it served over three million customers during the crucial Christmas trading period. 

The firm, which now has an estate of 340 stores in nine counties, also said that it plans to increase its portfolio of outlets to 400 during the next 18 months.