22-07-2025
The Works cheers ‘early success' in turnaround strategy
The Works has hailed 'early success' with its turnaround strategy as the retailer saw profits jump by around a fifth.
Shares in the books and stationery chain rose on Tuesday as a result.
The retail firm told shareholders it benefited from a 'strong' performance after Christmas, with like-for-like sales rising by 6.4% in the final quarter of its financial year.
It reported that total revenues were down 2% to £277 million for the year to May 4, compared with the previous year, although like-for-like sales grew 0.8%.
Store sales drove growth throughout the year, as customer events, new products and 'improved store standards' helped contribute to 2.3% like-for-like growth.
However, online sales declined by 12.1% after it was knocked by 'temporary capacity constraints' at a third-party provider during peak season.
The Works recorded a pre-tax profits of £8.3 million for the year, rising from £6.9 million a year earlier.
On Tuesday, the company also revealed that trading has been 'strong' over the first 11 weeks of the new financial year with like-for-like sales growth of 5%.
Gavin Peck, chief executive of the Works, said: 'We are delighted to have ended full-year 2025 in line with recently upgraded market expectations in a year defined by ongoing uncertainty and fragile consumer confidence.
'This encouraging performance is a huge credit to the early success of our new strategy launched in January 2025, Elevating the Works, which is already delivering tangible results.
'The strong trading delivered post-Christmas has continued into the start of our new financial year, with customers clearly loving our new spring and summer product ranges.'
Shares in the The Works were up 9.4% on Tuesday.
