Foyles like-for-likes rise 4.7% in December driven by Charing Cross flagship

The bookseller said it was “delighted” with sales at its Charing Cross Road store despite a “challenging retail environment” and a slowdown in West End footfall following the Paris terror attacks in November.

Foyles, which reported an operating loss of £600,000 for the year ending June 2014, said it achieved the sales growth “without significant discounting.”

The average unit price of books sold in its stores, including its first two stores outside of London in Bristol and Birmingham, dropped 2.15% in the 12 weeks prior to Christmas.

Foyles chief executive Paul Currie said: “We were very happy with Christmas sales in 2015.

“We were delighted in the performance at our flagship Charing Cross Road store and our other London bookshops, bearing in mind a challenging retail environment and lower footfall in the West End reported by other retailers following the Paris terrorist attacks.

“Our regional stores also performed well, and we used the Christmas peak trading to fully understand the different trading profile in our new stores in Bristol and Birmingham.

“A recent reorganisation of our website has enabled us to deliver exceptional service and we have seen a positive movement in sales and higher conversion as a result.”