Card Factory hit by extensive Covid lockdowns

The Wakefield-based firm said this resulted in over a third of trading days being lost during the 11 months to December 31.

Sales over the 11 month period fell from £425m in 2019 to £281m in 2020.

Store sales saw a year-on-year decline of 38 per cent, where mandatory store closures prohibited openings for 37 per cent of available trading days.

However, online continued to perform very strongly with cardfactory.co.uk achieving like-for-like sales growth of 137 per cent during the period whilst gettingpersonal.co.uk saw like-for-like sales growth of 10 per cent.

The firm said the recovery following the first national lockdown exceeded the board's expectations.

Assuming the current national lockdown for non-essential retailers does not extend beyond April 30, the firm said existing bank facilities of £200m will be sufficient to meet the current requirements.

Executive chairman, Paul Moody, said: "In a year, the like of which none of us have ever experienced before, I am hugely proud of the way in which the Card Factory family has risen to the many challenges faced and want to thank every colleague for their huge commitment.

"Throughout 2020 we unwaveringly did all that was necessary to protect our colleagues and customers, making our stores one of the most Covid-secure shopping experiences available. The financial investment has been significant, but critical to enabling us to meet our social responsibility."