Hornby turnaround 'on track' as Christmas sales defy retail gloom
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The chief executive of Hornby has said turnaround efforts are 'on track' after the model train maker's sales outperformed High Street peers over the crucial Christmas trading period. Olly Raeburn told shareholders on Wednesday that Hornby had defied 'a tough economic climate' with solid growth in revenue, margins and gross profits during the 'critical' third quarter of its financial year.
Margate-based Hornby has been slashing costs and selling loss-making operations as part of efforts to return to profitability. It has built up a significant debt pile as sales have struggled, costs have grown and trade has been disrupted by shipping attacks in the Red Sea.
But Hornby, which is backed by Frasers Group and counts Mike Ashley as a consultant, said group sales for the three months to 31 December were 7 per cent ahead of the same period last year on a continuing operations basis. This compares to a 1.5 per cent year-on-year fall in total UK non-food sales over the period, according to the British Retail Consortium.
Almost half of Hornby's Black Friday sales came from first time customers. Hornby said Black Friday and Christmas contributed to 23 per cent revenue growth and 38 per cent gross profit growth versus last year for the month of December. Almost 50 per cent cent of all Black Friday transactions came from first time customers, up from 42 per cent in 2023.
