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Mail Order Fashion sales struggle against the World Cup

July 2010
Clothing & Accessories- FashionLife, UK

The month of June saw sales of Fashion goods through UK Mail Order Houses slip to their lowest level so far this year. A total of £75M orth of items were sold, £50M of which was generated from clothing; this lagged behind the previous low point this year when sales totalled £86M in March; £58M of that figure came from clothing. However, sales through the second quarter were up on the first three months of the year by 4.9% - £276M compared to £262M.

The low sales in June may well have been impacted by the World Cup. Analysis of the performance of Mail Order in June shows that sales of fashion items were down between 14%-16% on the average weekly sales between February and May. When comparing the weekly sales levels, June only stands positive against January, when sales were impacted in the aftermath of Christmas and as a result of January sales on the High Street.

Despite the advent of summer and high temperatures, sales of dresses and trousers/shorts were lower in June than they were earlier in the year. The time lag for delivery, combined with the need for some consumers to acquire these items quickly, may well have served to dampen sales. £5.9m worth of dresses were delivered to market in June, compared to average monthly sales of £10m over the first five months of the year. Trousers/Shorts sales were £3.9m, against an average of £5.4m in the preceding five months.

Written by Paul Mitchell

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