Matchesfashion Christmas sales up 82%

Matchesfashion posted sales up 82% in the six weeks to 8 January 2016 and, at its busiest time over Christmas, the multi-brand luxury retailer was taking one order every seven seconds.

Much of the growth over the festive period came, in fact, from the new SS17 collections and from new customers, and the retailer clocked up the largest ever single transaction on its app of £94,000.

Executive chairman Tom Chapman, who co-founded the business as a boutique in Wimbledon with wife Ruth 30 years ago, said the results reflected "record growth" at the business, which saw its average order value rise by 16% and enjoyed significant growth from non-UK customers.

CEO Ulrich Jerome said mobile and app sales were "the driving engine" of Matchesfashion's growth. "We’ve invested significantly in technology to improve the customer experience and, as we can see, that investment has seen consequent industry leading growth," he said.

Matchesfashion stocks more than 400 brands from global names in luxury such as Burberry, Gucci and Alexander McQueen and from emerging talent such as Simone Rocha and Huishan Zhang. Its website ships to 190 countries, while it has physical stores in affluent London neighbourhoods including Wimbledon, Richmond, Notting Hill and Marylebone.

Before Christmas it became the first luxury retailer to offer a 90-minute delivery service and just after Christmas revealed plans to open the first London standalone store for its own label Raey.