​The sun shone on UK retail in the first week of the new month (1-8 March) with footfall rebounding, rising 1.8% week-on-week across the country.

The positive performance was driven by a 4.2% rebound in high street activity and by a more modest 0.1% rise in retail parks, according to MRI Software data. 

However, shopping centres saw a 1.6% decline in footfall, “reflecting cautious consumer behaviour ahead of Mother’s Day [30 March] and Easter [18-20 April], which fall two weeks later this year than in 2024. This suggest shoppers may be planning purchases more intentionally”, the report said. Of course, it could also have been connected to the sunny weather with consumers less willing to shop undervcover and preferring outdoor destinations.

MRI said the rise in high street activity “is encouraging as it may well align with factors such as warmer weather, and schools reopening following the half-term break across the UK which will also signal a return to the office”.

Footfall rose on four out of seven days last week peaking on Sunday and Wednesday (rising by 18% and 8.3%, respectively) in all UK retail destinations. However, the drop in activity came on Friday “which was far more significant in shopping centres”. 

High streets benefitted from the warmer weather on Saturday with a rise in footfall recorded, however retail parks and shopping centres saw a drop in activity on this day compared to the week before.

All town types benefitted from milder weather with footfall rising from the week before, especially in coastal towns and Greater London where double-digit rises were recorded from the week before. 

Market and historic towns also witnessed strong activity, alongside MRI Software’s Central London Back to Office benchmark. 

Apart from the West Midlands, regional footfall in all UK retail destinations remained strong particularly in the East of England and the South West.

Watches of Switzerland Group has introduced a £25 million share buyback programme, sending its shares up 7% in early trading on Monday (10 March).

The luxury watch retailer said it now has excess funds to return to shareholders as its balance sheet remains strong following a refinancing in December that increased liquidity by £50 million.

The move won’t restrict investment in retail expansion with the group about to open a new Rolex flagship showroom on London’s Bond Street on Thursday (14 March).

It said of the share buyback programme: “The group has a clear and disciplined approach to capital allocation – prioritising investment for growth through showroom elevation, new projects and acquisitions, before returning to shareholders any surplus capital above and beyond those requirements, as appropriate”. 
 
It added: “We continue to be active on a number of business development opportunities, both organic and inorganic, and will prioritise these investments, but in addition we now have surplus capital that can be returned to shareholders in line with the framework”.

Buybacks reduce the number of shares in circulation, which gives all remaining shareholders ownership of a greater percentage of the company. This often leads to an increase in a company’s share price, hence the early rise this morning.

Spanish fashion retail giant Mango is continuing its run of strong results and on Monday reported sales for 2024 of €3.339 billion. That was 7.6% higher than 2023, and at constant exchange rates, sales grew by 11.6%, above the market average.

And how did it do profits-wise last year? Rather well. Net profit rose 27% to €219 million, EBITDA increased 19% year on year to €636 million and the gross margin reached 60.7%.

Its sales growth came as its expansion programme carried on at its previous fast pace with more new stores than ever in markets including the US, UK, Spain, Italy and others.

Mango’s international business accounts for 78% of total revenue and the countries with the highest turnover continue to be led by Spain, France, Turkey, Germany and the US, closely followed by Italy, the UK and Portugal.

It has an ongoing plan to expand its shops in the US in particular, one of its top five markets. It will open more than 60 stores between 2024 and 2025 after its return to the country with its first flagship store in New York in 2022.

But it’s not just about physical stores as the online channel contributed a third of the company’s sales with a turnover of around €1.1 billion last year.

Since 2019, the company has increased its revenues by 40%, above the average for the sector. Mango has clearly been growing strongly but remains Spain’s second-largest fashion retail business behind its peer Inditex. However, it has ambitions to get much bigger with a target of €400 million in sales by 2026 compared to the €3.339 billion 2024 figure.

The sales figures obviously benefitted from its new stores, but its heavy investment expenditure would have dented profits, although the spend should pay off on the profits front long term. In fact, 2024 saw the highest investment in Mango’s history, 17% more than the previous year, mainly allocated to the opening and refurbishment of all those stores, as well as to technological innovations, the expansion of its logistics capacity and the Mango Campus.

It spent over €219 million on 260+ store openings in 2024, to reach more than 2,800 stores in over 120 markets around the world.

It also launched elevated collections and a key collaboration with Victoria Beckham. And it said this paid off as all business lines developed favourably last year as Man and Kids & Teen “recorded strong growth and increased their proportion of total turnover”. Yet Mango Woman remains the driving force of its sales, accounting for 79% of the business.

But it was a tough year in some ways too with the business losing its founder Isak Andic in an accident in December.