Greetings cards and gifts retailer Card Factory hailed a \u2018resilient\u2019 first half against a backdrop of rising costs as it accelerates its digital strategy following the acquisition of Funky Pigeon.<\/p>\n
In the six months to 31 July 2025, the Wakefield-based retailer delivered revenues of \u00a3247.6m,<\/strong> up from \u00a3233.8m a year earlier. Growth was supported by strong store trading and continued expansion of the partnerships channel, which includes sales through third-party retailers and online platforms.<\/p>\n Profitability was affected by higher costs. Gross profit fell to \u00a373.3m from \u00a376.2m, while operating profit declined to \u00a314.5m, down from \u00a321.5m.<\/strong> Adjusted pre-tax profit was \u00a313.2m, slightly below \u00a314.5m last year.<\/p>\n The acquisition of Funky Pigeon, completed in August 2025 for \u00a324.1m, made Card Factory the second-largest online card and attached gifting retailer in the UK.<\/p>\n The company said the deal will accelerate its digital strategy, providing a platform for online growth, particularly in the direct-to-recipient card and gifting market. Work is underway to unlock annual synergy benefits of more than \u00a35m by the end of FY27 through optimising manufacturing, fulfilment, technology platforms, and product ranges. The group expects the acquisition to be earnings-enhancing in the first full year post-completion, FY27.<\/p>\n Chief executive Darcy Willson-Rymer said: \u201cOur resilient first half performance against a challenging retail backdrop demonstrates the effective execution of our growth strategy and our ability to navigate inflationary pressures.<\/p>\n \u201cOur core stores business performed positively during the period, supported by new store openings, while our ongoing range development resonated strongly with customers, driving successful Spring seasons. At the same time, we continued to advance our growth priorities, expanding partnerships and accelerating our digital strategy through the acquisition of Funky Pigeon.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the peak festive season ahead, we are well prepared for our most important trading period. Building on the success of our H1 seasonal performance, we have strong plans in place for H2 to deliver on our quality and value proposition including new Christmas ranges and a significantly expanded Halloween range. These plans, combined with our ongoing productivity and efficiency programme, mean our expectations for the full year remain unchanged.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Greeting cards and gifts retailer to accelerate digital strategy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":271992,"featured_media":2087446,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53262],"coauthors":[137100],"class_list":["post-2144498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","tag-featured-story","tag-yorkshire"],"yoast_head":"\n