Marks Electrical has reported of 25 per cent sales growth in the six months to 30 September 30, and the company said it continued to gain market share across the UK “even against a challenging market”.
The electricals retailer said sales were strong across all product lines, but it saw a particular stand-out performance in washer-dryers (+74 per cent), TV (+71 per cent), and American-style fridge-freezers (+36 per cent).
The company also reported of “rapid growth” in its new next-day integrated, gas, electric and television installation services, with over 7,000 installation orders in the first half, versus 2,500 in the prior year – a growth rate of 180 per cent, it said.
Mark Smithson, CEO of Marks Electrical, said: “We’ve built on the good momentum delivered at the start of the year, with sales growth against a major domestic appliances and consumer electronics market that is broadly flat in the first half of our financial year.
“Our strategic decision to add in-house installation services to our offering has strengthened the group’s premium service proposition, enabling us to develop a market leading installation offering, growing market share and driving revenue growth.”
Mr Smithson said the launch of this service, alongside the well documented industry-wide pressures regarding wage inflation, impacted the retailer’s margin in the first half of the year, with the pressure on distribution and installation costs being higher than expected.
He added: “We remain focused on our full-year targets and expect margin pressure to ease in the second half as we benefit from improved operating leverage during the peak trading period.”
