Matalan growth boosts bid prospects
13 January 2010 10:03
Fashion and homewares chain Matalan has reported strong growth over the Christmas period. Matalan said that like-for-like sales rose 13.7% in the five weeks to January 2nd, stronger than the trend seen in the autumn despite tough comparatives with the previous year.
Chief executive Alistair McGeorge said: "The shopping experience for our customers continues to improve as we innovate and refresh across our stores".
Mr McGeorge added that the company had continued with its normal promotional stance and had not resorted to the deeper discounting tactics seen elsewhere.
The chain is currently a £1.5 billion takeover target, with at least five major private equity firms thought to be interested in a potential acquisition.
Matalan, which has 205 stores, has shown resilience in the recession as its cut-price clothes and homewares attract cost-conscious customers. In its most recent trading period, like-for-like sales were up by 9.3% in the 13 weeks to January 2nd, with total sales ahead 10.4% to £362 million.
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