Reborn BHS reports sharply rising sales as it adds fashion, launches ad campaign

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jan 15, 2018

The name BHS may still be closely associated with the failed high street business, especially as the trial of its former boss grabs the headlines. But the business in its current form, under its new owners, seems to be going from strength to strength.

The company said that sales soared 43% in the last quarter of 2017, aided by women’s sleepwear, which was up an impressive 104% in the three-month period. 

Other outperforming categories were  lighting (up a healthy 57% and now as much a core category for the e-tailer as it was for its predecessor), and home accessories, which rose 43%.

The BHS.com website launched in September 2016 after the name was acquired by the Al Mana Group of Qatar. From its relatively small start it has added on new categories and now offers a full line-up of budget-priced fashion basics and trend pieces for women and men. It opened its 'denim room' last September.

With lower overheads, no vast UK store estate to maintain and a British shopper increasingly buying online, the company appears to have a stronger chance of succeeding than the original BHS did.

MD Kevan Mallinder said the launch of its first ad campaign in October helped it during the quarter and drove website visits up 34% in the two weeks after it appeared.

He also said that being small allows it to be nimble and react fast to changing tastes and trends.