Mothercare has reported a decline in its first quarter UK like-for-like sales as it continues to work on its turnaround.
In the 15 weeks to 13 July, UK like-for-likes were down 3.2% although the retailer said its performance improved towards the end of the period. Online sales were impacted by Mothercare’s ongoing store closure programme and the loss of iPad sales in the stores. This resulted in an overall reduction in online sales of 12.1%.
Mothercare said a challenging UK market meant it had to invest in more promotional activity to stimulate sales, both in its stores and online. It also said that full year underlying pre-tax profit is expected to be comparable to the previous year, but said it has the full support of its lenders.
