Kitchen and Bathrooms Sales Help Wickes Return to Growth in Q1

Travis Perkins has reported on first quarter trading, covering the three months ended 31st March.

Wickes reported a strong performance with a 10.5% rise in like-for-like sales growth and increased sales in both core DIY and Kitchens and Bathrooms.

Kitchens and bathrooms benefited from a continued improvement in execution and a strong order book carried over from 2018, partially aided by competitor decisions to exit the design & installation service for end-consumers in the second half of 2018.  

Improved core DIY sales benefited from strong execution, but this was partially offset by the timing of Easter for Q1 (two days of Easter sales in Q1 2018). 

The results are in contrast to full-year trading for 2018 when Wickes saw revenues decline by 4.4% after a challenging year and a difficult first half. 

Last month, Wickes announced a new boutique tiles collection to complement its kitchen and bathroom ranges and launched its first digital out of home and radio roadblock campaign. 

John Carter, Chief Executive, commented:

"We have delivered strong sales growth in the first quarter of the year, which reflects both our focus on excellent customer service and the weak comparator in 2018. This performance is all the more encouraging given the impact of the on-going political uncertainty on our end markets.

"Wickes posted encouraging sales growth figures in both core DIY and showroom categories, demonstrating a strong turnaround in Kitchen and Bathroom performance."

 Source : Insight DIY Team and Travis Perkins

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