Mountain Warehouse defies ‘doom-mongers’ with Christmas sales climb

The outdoor equipment retailer posted a 16.2% rise in total sales to £95.8m in the 13 weeks to December 29, bolstered by a 21.6% rise in online sales.

It recorded its biggest sales day to date on Black Friday last year, with sales of over £2.5m.

Mountain Warehouse said its strong festive period performance has put it on track for “record full-year profits”.

Sister retailer Neon Sheep also more than doubled sales during the period to £3.2m – today the business operates a 25-strong store estate, with plans to open a further 10 this year.

Mountain Warehouse operates 400 stores across nine countries today, and plans to open a further 50 this year.

Chief executive Mark Neale said: “I’m delighted to be reporting record Christmas trading for the 22nd year running, despite the snap election and some economic uncertainties around Brexit.

“It demonstrates the success of our bricks and clicks strategy and proves the doom-mongers predicting the death of the high street are wrong.

“If you have the right locations customers will come, and if you have the right products at the right price, and also provide great service, they will part with their hard-earned money.

“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.”