Shoppers stocking up on hats, gloves and ski jackets have helped outdoor retailer Mountain Warehouse post record Christmas trading figures.
The chain, which has stores in Inveness, Elgin and Aviemore, said like-for-like sales soared by 13.6% in the six weeks to January 1, with international sales up 71%.
Serving more than one million customers over the festive period and selling over 2.5million items, the company’s total sales rose 28.8%, and online revenue increased by 31.8%.
Mountain Warehouse founder and chief executive Mark Neale said there had been “no signs” of consumer confidence waning, despite economic uncertainty triggered by the Brexit vote and torrid trading conditions for many retailers.
Mr Neale added: “Part of the reason for our success is down to a relentless focus on improvement and it helps that I’m not some three-year chief executive trying to make a quick buck.
“There’s also been a huge focus on value for money.”
Festive bestsellers for the firm included more than 250,000 hats and pairs of gloves, 500,000 pairs of socks and 100,000 ski jackets.
The company is now on course to make around £180million in revenue this year, which would be a 28% increase on the £141million made in 2016.
In October Mountain Warehouse warned the collapse in sterling would mean higher prices, but Mr Neale said any increases will be “minimal.”
He added: “We haven’t increased prices in five years and we don’t want to. We’ve been working hard to mitigate the fall in the value of the pound as much as we can and because we are growing so fast we have been able to strike better deals with suppliers, so any price rises will be minimal.”
Last year the company shelved plans for a stock market flotation and Mr Neale said there were no current plans to revive them.
The firm, which opened 34 more stores last year, including the new branch in Aviemore’s Grampian Road, also plans to ramp up expansion. It aims to eventually have 300 UK stores and around 300 international outlets.
It currently has more than 200 UK stores and 262 outlets in total spanning seven countries including the US, Poland, Ireland and Canada. Twenty new store openings are planned in the UK this year.
