The Original Factory Shop EBITDA soars in first quarter

Like-for-like sales grew 5.5% in the 13 weeks to July 1 as total sales increased 12.5%.

The retailer said seasonal areas such as gardening, toys and fashion traded strongly in May during the fine weather and then home, hardware, everyday essentials and electricals helped to continue the performance during the unseasonably cold and wet June.

The Original Factory Shop opened eight stores over the period, which takes its store count to 180.

The retailer said it is committed to opening stores in towns with a population of 15,000 or less.

The Original Factory Shop chief executive Angela Spindler said: “We are swimming upstream strategically and bucking the trend by opening stores and trading strongly on Britain’s small town high streets. 

“We will always be committed to Britain’s small town high streets, and further to the 15 new stores we will open this year, we see there being scope for a network of 450 stores across UK high streets over the medium term.”

The retailer continued to grow its multichannel sales over the quarter and it tripled the amount of additional items its sells online. It also launched its first in-store catalogue which it said had contributed to 50% of sales on the additional items.

The catalogue helped to drive a record sales week for the retailer in the week ended June 3.