Teenagers drive up Top Shop profits
High-spending teenagers and 20-somethings have sent profits surging at Arcadia, the fashion group which owns the Top Shop and Top Man chains.
Profits at the group have surged by 60 per cent over the six months to 23 February, taking them to £57.9 million, a figure which topped the City's highest forecasts.
Sales jumped by 9.4 per cent during the six months and growth has been even stronger over the past seven weeks, climbing to almost 13 per cent.
Arcadia is Britain's second largest clothing retailer and also owns Miss Selfridge, Wallis, Evans, Dorothy Perkins and Burton. But the best performance came in younger fashions, at the Top Shop and Top Man chains, said chief executive Stuart Rose. Excluding the impact of new shops, sales there surged by almost 20 per cent. At Burton, the rise was a more modest 3.3 per cent.
Arcadia has undergone widespread restructuring in recent years, closing more than 500 of its shops. It now has 1,150 outlets.
Today's figures underline the strength of the consumer spending boom and the group joins a raft of other high street retailers who have reported strong sales in recent weeks, including Next and the resurgent Marks & Spencer.
