During the recession, luxury brands such as Burberry struggled to draw in the crowds as consumers cut back on all but essentials in a bid to save money. However, surprisingly, the one area of the luxury market which remained resilient throughout was Health and Beauty – especially around Christmas, when sales of traditional staples such as electronics and jewellery ebbed slightly in the tough economic times.
Now it appears that British consumers are taking advantage of new initiatives in the health and beauty sector, demonstrated by the hugely successful annual results posted by specialist retailer The Fragrance Shop earlier this week. In the year to March 31st, the chain recorded a 15 per cent increase in sales, bringing the annual total to a record £81 million.
Furthermore, a like for like sales increase of 3.5 per cent allowed the retailer to achieve pre-tax profits of £10.2 million; a 20 per cent increase from the previous year.
Founder and chief executive Sanjay Vadera has put the specialist store’s success down to clever marketing and sales techniques which offer consumers a unique incentive to shop at their nearest outlet. The “try it first” initiative, for example, gives consumers a small sample bottle of any fragrance purchased.
This gives gift recipients the opportunity to test the perfume before opening the full bottle, allowing the buyer to return the unopened package for a full refund if the recipient does not like it.
At present, The Fragrance Shop operates 146 stores in the UK, but industry experts predict expansion after the success of the past 12 months. This would also aid the growth of the retailer’s click and collect service, which at present accounts for 17 per cent of the total sales figure.
Mr Vadera spoke of the chain’s determination to continually improve the services offered to its customers.
He said; “Although we’re very proud of the fact that The Fragrance Shop is a traditional bricks and mortar business we’re not complacent and have looked to build-on and leverage this strong base through developing our multi-channel offering.
“We continue to prove specialist high street retailers can succeed in turbulent economic times as long as they have a clear strategy that evolves with changing consumer behaviour.”
The Fragrance Shop is yet another retailer proving that the melding of traditional retailing and the newer digital options on offer can hugely benefit high street businesses. Argos is perhaps the greatest example of the merits of a click and collect service, as this initiative helped bosses pull the chain back from the brink of administration after substantial investment into the brand’s online platform.
Do you think a click and collect service would benefit independent specialist stores on the high street, or does this initiative require the support of a network of stores in order to make any investment into large-scale internet upgrading worthwhile?
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