Record December sales for Debenhams

Debenhams hailed its best ever December performance today after ramping up pre-Christmas discounting to attract cost-conscious shoppers.

The group, which has 155 UK stores, with seven locations in Ireland and 73 overseas outlets, cut prices by up to 50% in one-day promotions on some products in what chief executive Michael Sharp said was the most competitive Christmas in his 37-year career in retail.

He said shoppers were more “canny” and left shopping until much later this year in the hope of picking up bargains ahead of Christmas as well as during the traditional sale period.

Debenhams saw sales in the five weeks to January 5 rise 5% on a like-for-like basis after a record December, helping comparable sales in the first 18 weeks of its financial year lift 2.9%.

But the group sacrificed margins for sales and said the move to discount earlier in the season was expected to hit profit margins for the year to September.

Mr Sharp said consumer confidence would remain subdued over the year ahead.

“Whilst consumers have become acclimatised to the new economic reality, we don’t anticipate a significant change in consumer confidence in the remainder of the year,” he said.