All major divisions, from the Sam's Warehouse clubs to the discount stores, reported gains in sales and profits (the international division actually had an 85percentt expansion in revenue).
Londis, which operates 1,630 convenience stores, reported sales in the year to December of £504m.
The brand, now with more than 100 stores, reported $81.7 million in sales for the first quarter of 2009, and last month it announced the introduction of a little sister brand, Ivivva Athletica, aimed at girls ages 6 to 12. THE company has received criticism about its training sessions for employees, or educators, as they're called here.
A few stores reported an uptick in sales — of cocooning items, in particular.
The jewellery company's Ernest Jones, H Samuel and Leslie Davis stores reported a 0.8% drop in sales in the nine weeks to January 2, and a 2.2% decline in the 48 weeks to the same date.
After heavy discounting before Christmas, some stores reported a 60 per cent increase in custom from abroad, with Chinese shoppers topping the list.
For the first half of this year, more than 40percentt of the 260 stores recorded sales more than 10percentt higher than in the period a year earlier, while just one in 10 stores reported declining sales.
Household goods stores reported a 13.4percentt annual increase in sales, the biggest since October 2001.
But Wal-Mart Stores reported a scant 2percentt increase in profits.
On Martha's Vineyard, electronic stores reported their best business sales in years, with supplies of D-batteries being cleaned off the shelves.
