Card Factory to open concessions in all 223 Matalan stores in huge expansion
Card Factory has announced plans to open more concessions inside Matalan stores over the next few months.
The retailer already sells its cards inside 22 Matalan stores - but it will expand this arrangement to all 223 Matalan sites by the end of the year. The announcement comes after Card Factory saw its pre-tax profit soared 73% to £24.7million in the six months to the end of July.
Like-for-like sales increased by 10.5% in shops, in part thanks to price rises and its range of Valentine's, Mother's Day and Father's Day cards performing better-than-expected, but online sales dropped 13.1%. Card Factory, which has over 1,000 stores across UK and Ireland, said it is already preparing for the busy Christmas period.
Chief executive Darcy Willson-Rymer said: “Our value and quality proposition and the strength of our store estate resonates with customers and positions us well to navigate the challenging economic backdrop in the run-up to the Christmas trading season.
“Continued leveraging of the insights gathered from our investment in customer data is enabling us to evolve and optimise our store formats and ranges across cards, gifts and celebration essentials, all underpinned by our discipline in maintaining a resilient financial position.”
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The update from Card Factory comes after an insolvency court approved a major restructuring plan for its rival Clinton Cards last month, in a move which would see it close 38 stores. Restructuring experts FRP Advisory and law firm Jones Day presented a plan which would see the gift and cards retailer pay lower business rates and rent for the 38 shops that are set to close, in a bid to avoid collapsing altogether.
The deal agreed by the court will see the landlords and local councils receive just 8.6p for every pound owed by Clintons, according to the Evening Standard. It is believed this will save thousands of jobs that would have been at risk.
The owners of Clintons, Jeff and Zev Weiss, have also agreed to provide a revolving loan facility for 12 months, which is a rolling line of credit arranged between a business and a lender. The Weiss family bought Clintons out of administration after the firm went bust in 2019. Clintons currently has 225 stores across the UK.
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