Jigsaw Christmas sales up as retailer resists discounting

The retailer achieved the double-digit growth during the five weeks to December 31.

It chose not to discount before Christmas, including during the Black Friday period, and added that its performance was against strong comparables.

Jigsaw added that it was unable to provide a strict like-for-like figure because of its new ecommerce system, which uses its store estate as a ‘virtual warehouse’.

Chief executive Peter Ruis said that the warehouse was the “living embodiment of omnichannel” and that as a result there was “no accurate way of truly describing like-for-like”.

The retailer opened just one store in the period, in Teddington.

Ruis added: “As with the whole of 2016, [Christmas sales have] been achieved in a highly challenging external environment.

“We remain clearly identified as a ‘Christmas brand’, offering a unique, stylish and differentiated gift at this special time of year.

“It was again a record period for ecommerce, and our best international December ever.”

Jigsaw has concessions in Ireland, Jersey, the Netherlands, Singapore and South Africa.

It has over 75 UK shops, with 31 based in the capital and concessions in most John Lewis and Fenwick stores.