High street nursery brand, Mamas & Papas has reported record sales over the Black Friday and Christmas trading period, driven by a strong performance from its UK and overseas markets.
Group sales – which include stores, online and wholesale – increased 5% over the 13 weeks to 29 December as new and expectant parents shopped its expanding range of travel systems, nursery furniture, toys and baby clothes. Retail sales were up 8% in the period, reaching 13% over Black Friday week.
Growth was driven primarily by the brand’s expanded toys and gifts category, including its Welcome to the World collection which includes coordinated toys, accessories and clothing ranges.
The brand said its UK market share reached a new peak of 20% in November, according to the latest GfK data.
Despite heavy discounting across the retail sector, the business said it had maintained stronger prices over the period, which helped drive profit growth of 8%.
Mamas & Papas – which was founded by husband and wife David and Luisa Scacchetti in 1981 with a single store in Huddersfield – operates from 40 UK concessions with M&S and Next, as well as 21 standalone stores. In December, the brand opened its biggest ever concession with Marks & Spencer in Lisburn, near Belfast.
As part of its international expansion plan, it has opened 29 overseas concessions over the past 18 months with El Corte Ingles in Spain, MAP Active in Indonesia and Central Department Store Group in Thailand.
The company said it was now planning a further 20 locations over the next 12 months to help it tap into growing demand for its branded ranges, including a new partnership with leading Australian department store, Myers.
“This was another record golden quarter for the brand, with a particularly strong contribution from our bricks and mortar estate,” commented Nathan Williams, ceo at Mamas & Papas. “We’re also seeing a growing momentum from our overseas business, where we’ve laid excellent foundations over the past 18 months with several key partners in our core markets. This is an important area of expansion for our brand over the next 12 months as demand for our high quality baby and nursery products continues to grow.
“While the macroeconomic situation continues to weigh heavily on consumer sentiment, the enduring strength of the nursery and baby category and the growing presence of our brand in the UK and overseas gives us a lot of confidence in the year ahead. Meanwhile our growing data capabilities mean we’re better able to tailor support for new and expectant parents and be even more helpful at critical points of their pregnancy journey.”
