White Stuff booms as velvet and sequins are back on Christmas menu

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jan 10, 2023

White Stuff was among the winners of the Christmas trading season with the retailer saying on Tuesday that the nine weeks to 31 December saw total sales across its stores and online rising 16% year-on-year. 

Like several other retailers so far this month, it also said that store sales were particularly strong compared to online with an increase of 25%. However, total e-sales also rose 8%, even though a number of White Stuff’s peers have mentioned a drop in e-tail. Those online sales came both through its own site and its online concession partners.

So what actually resonated with consumers in the past couple of months? Knitwear sales were “particularly strong” and partywear sales showed that “velvet and sequins were definitely back”.

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CEO Jo Jenkins said: “Following a good performance over the past year, we continued to trade well throughout November and December, despite the tough economic environment. More customers switched back to shopping in our stores, and we were also pleased with the performance of our online channels. We continue to see customers responding well to our product and brand direction.”

But she added that she’s staying “cautious about the year ahead as the UK continues to feel the pressure of the cost-of-living crisis, and we will continue to diligently implement our multi-channel business transformation plans”.

The multichannel lifestyle brand — which is just two years short of its 40th anniversary — has 125 stores and 55 UK concessions in John Lewis and other indie stores. It also has concessions in Germany and Belgium and sells internationally via its website, as well as multiple wholesale accounts.