Losses narrow at The Works as online sales soar

Birmingham retailer The Works has narrowed its losses for the first half of its financial year, despite seeing a fall in revenues brought about by the pandemic.

Turnover fell almost 8% at the company for the 26 weeks to October 25 2020. However, the firm has reported a narrowing of losses – down from £8.5m in 2019 to £4.3m in 2020.

The Works said the performance was “significantly ahead of expectations” and was driven by strong online sales.

Gavin Peck, chief executive of The Works, said: “Our interim results and trading over the crucial Christmas period reflect a robust performance given the impact of store closures as a result of Government restrictions. When open, our stores have performed well and our online proposition has continued to resonate strongly, supported by the investment we made to increase online capacity. Our ability to continue to safely serve our customers and communities through these unsettling periods is thanks to the ongoing commitment and hard work of fantastic colleagues across the business, something I am incredibly proud of.

“With our stores temporarily closed, we are, once again, focussed on maximising sales through our online operations and carefully controlling costs whilst ensuring that we are able to reopen safely when restrictions allow. We are in a strong financial position to face the current challenges and we remain confident in the medium-term growth potential of the business, particularly given the evident ongoing relevance of our proposition.”