The ever-shifting Covid-19 restrictions in the run up to Christmas caused major disruption for retailers. While shops were allowed to stay open, at least until the Christmas rules and then lockdown 3 - confusion and caution kept shoppers away from the High Street.
As the nation stayed at home, leisurewear and pyjamas topped the shopping list over party dresses. And as expected, the big supermarkets were boosted by their essential retail status, where shoppers bagged non-essential Christmas gifts alongside all their groceries.
Here are five brands that lost out and five that saw sales soar during the Christmas like no other.
On the up
Sainsbury's
Profits at Sainsbury’s are likely to be £50million higher than first predicted, thanks to November's second English national lockdown and tight tiering restrictions in December.
Chief executive Simon Roberts said the tighter Christmas restrictions saw customers turn to smaller turkeys and an increase in lamb and beef sales, but shoppers treated themselves to more premium products, with Taste The Difference sales up 11 per cent.
The as supermarket bosses said sales in the three months to January 2 were up 8.6 per cent on a like-for-like basis.
Over the Christmas period itself – measured by Sainsbury’s as the nine weeks to the same date – these were even higher, growing 9.3 per cent.
Most Read
Holborn-headquartered Sainsbury’s said there was strong growth in both its grocery stores and at Argos, which remained open for click-and-collect orders, alongside huge surges in online deliveries.
Argos sales rose 8.4 per cent and non-food sales were up 6 per cent as non-essential retailers were forced to either close stores or only offer click-and-collect services.
Online grocery sales jumped 128 per cent over the period, with total digital sales up 81 per cent, representing 44 per cent of total sales for the group.
Around 1.1 million online food orders were delivered in the 10 days leading up to Christmas, the grocer added.
As a result, underlying pre-tax profits for the year are expected to hit £330 million, compared with previous guidance of £270 million – although this will be down on the £586 million recorded last year due to Sainsbury’s agreeing to pay its £410 million business rates bill.
B&M
B&M bosses said they would reward its , with shareholders to receive a special dividend of £200m after revenues at its 海角视频 stores soared over Christmas.
Don’t miss
The discount retail giant said 海角视频 stores' revenue growth for Q3 - the festive "golden quarter" - was 26.6%, while group revenue growth stood at 22.5%. That's compared with a 9.9% rise for the same period last year.
The group, whose headquarters are on Merseyside, opened 18 new stores during the quarter - helping to create over 500 new jobs.
In a trading update detailing a "strong golden quarter", the firm also said a further special dividend of 20p per share - equating to around £200m in total - will be paid to shareholders at the end of January.
Chief executive Simon Arora and his family are the biggest shareholders in the business, meaning he will pay himself £30 million,
The payouts come as the retailer saw a surge in sales during the second English national lockdown and subsequent Tiering as the stores benefitted from their "essential" retail status.
B&M stores has stayed open throughout the lockdown - with more than 670 branches operating nationwide at the moment.
Very
Online retailer Very said sales in the run-up to Christmas were , following strong trading throughout 2020. Revenues topped £500m for the first time in the company's history.
Home and electrical products sold the most, both up more than 45%, while the company attracted 500,000 new customers and had 139m website visits.
As well as benefiting from the move to online shopping as many physical stores were closed, Very was boosted by other coronavirus trends, such as people investing in their homes during the pandemic.
The company's sales of DIY products tripled, while it saw big increases in the number of beds, other furniture and soft furnishings it sold. Other benefits from the pandemic came in sales of sportswear and wellbeing products.
Pets at Home
Pets at Home predicts its pre-tax profit for the financial year will be "at least £77m" - over £10m more than previously stated.
The Cheshire-headquartered pet care group said it had posted "high-teens" group sales growth during December.
In its interim results released in November, the Cheshire-headquartered pet care business reported a revenue growth of 5.1% to £574.4m for the 28 weeks to October 8.
On Friday, in a Q3 trading update, the firm said that momentum had continued to accelerate "across all channels".
Despite the firm being classified as an 'essential retailer' during the third English lockdown which began this week, Pets at Home said the restrictions may still have an impact on sales.
Games Workshop
Profits are up 50 per cent at Warhammer creator Games Workshop on the back of strong global sales.
The tabletop gaming firm, headquartered in Lenton, Nottingham, said , jumped 56.3 percent to £91.6 million.
Total sales for the period were up 27 percent to £168.8 million - compared to £148.8 million for the six months before the pandemic hit.
The company, which is valued at around £3.8 billion, said store sales slumped by 18.5 percent to £37.3 million as a result of coronavirus restrictions.
The business has repaid furlough support and other government subsidies and is cancelling the 海角视频 expanded business rates retail discount scheme for 2020/21.
The global firm runs the business from its Nottingham site.
The essential guide to lockdown 3 in England
Sales down
Marks and Spencer
Marks & Spencer's t to £2.8 billion as the late 2020 lockdown and tiering restrictions took their toll in the pre-Christmas period.
The clothing and home business segment was particularly affected, down 25.1 per cent, reflecting an in-store sales decline of 46.5 per cent, partly offset by online sales growth of 47.5 per cent.
The sales mix remained heavily biased to pandemic-influenced product such as sleepwear and leisurewear.
The company said the online business performed well.
Food like-for-like sales increased 2.6 per cent. On a comparative basis, this performance was even stronger given reduced food-on-the-move sales and lower footfall in town and city centres.
Joules
Joules, the 海角视频 lifestyle brand, has warned the new national lockdown could – if the restrictions continue until April 1.
The national clothes brand said the closure of its stores, the cancellation of country shows and disruption to wholesale partners such as John Lewis, would have a big impact on its figures this year.
In a Christmas trading update, the Leicestershire-based firm said, however, that the current restrictions follow decent online revenues.
Sales through its websites, including the Friends of Joules digital marketplace, were up 66 per cent year on year since late November, driven by more people shopping at home and improved conversion rates across the group's platforms.
But total store sales were down 58 per cent during the period, reflecting the enforced closures of non-essential stores and reduced footfall as and when stores were able to open.
However, better than expected sales and profits in past seven months would help mitigate against the pandemic, it said.
Want more business news straight to your inbox?
BusinessLive is your home for business news from around the country - and you can stay in touch with all the latest news through our email alerts.
You can sign up to receive morning news bulletins from every region we cover and to weekly email bulletins covering key economic sectors from manufacturing to technology and enterprise. And we'll send out breaking news alerts for any stories we think you can't miss.
Visit our email preference centre to sign up to all the latest news from BusinessLive.
Primark
Primark owner Associated British Foods has warned of a of more than £1 billion if coronavirus lockdowns force its stores to stay closed until the end of February.
The budget fashion chain said 305 of its 389 shops around the world are currently shut, which is expected to cost it £1.05 billion in lost sales – up from the £650 million hit forecast at the end of December.
AB Foods – which has 190 shops in the 海角视频 – said it now expects to see half-year underlying earnings wiped out, with the group forecasting to be “broadly break-even” against profits of £441 million a year earlier.
But it said it could be facing a £1.85 billion sales impact if its entire store estate has to close and remain shut until the end of March, knocking profits by a further £300 million.
Primark has already seen £540 million in lost retail sales from store closures due to coronavirus restrictions in its key Christmas quarter, with sales slumping 30% in the 16 weeks to January 2.
Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said last year Primark could now “regret” its resistance to creating an online presence as it cannot make up the shortfall in digital sales.
Greggs
Bakery chain Greggs says its expansion plans will continue in 2021 with 100 planned openings – despite bracing itself to post its first ever loss in its 80-year history
The Newcastle food-on-the-go favourite has warned that its profit levels will not recover until at least 2022, having taken a hammering during the pandemic, which also led to the loss of 820 jobs at the end of last year.
The group said average like-for-like sales were back up to 81.1% of its 2019 levels over its fourth quarter, running to January 2. It took in total sales of £293m compared to 2019’s £344m, and over the last five weeks had recovered to 85.7% of last year’s performance.
The brand said it was optimistic for the future, which it is demonstrating by continuing to invest in its digital channels and physical stores.
Paperchase
Stationery chain Paperchase is on the after sales were hammered by closures at the end of last year.
The firm, which has 127 stores and 1,500 employees, confirmed it has filed a notice to appoint administrators from PwC to advise on its insolvency process.
Sign up for more business news straight to your inbox
Stay up to date with our daily newsletter, email breaking news alerts and weekly round-ups. To sign up, find out more and see all of our newsletters, follow the link here
Paperchase launched a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) restructuring in March in an attempt to turn around its fortunes but saw this heavily impacted by the pandemic.
It is understood the retailer’s decision to move towards administration was particularly driven by poor sales in November and December amid lockdown measures and tiered restrictions.
Will shoppers return to the High Street - let us know your thoughts in the comments section below