Following today’s release of The Works’ figures for the 11 weeks ending 19 January 2025; Aliyah Siddika, associate retail analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view: “The Works’ decision to limit promotional activity and focus on full-price sales backfired this Christmas, as the retailer reported a total like-for-like sales decline of 0.9%. With consumers increasingly price-conscious due to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, this strategy was ill-timed as it put The Works at a disadvantage compared to other discounters such as B&M, who ranked as the fourth most-used retailer for toys & games in GlobalData’s recent Christmas survey*, and has reported positive Christmas sales. The Works saw a modest 1.0% like-for-like growth in store sales, which account for over 90% of sales, indicating a lack of customer attraction during the holiday season. Online sales suffered, with a significant 14.9% decline in like-for-like sales as the retailer struggled to fulfil orders.
“Adult Fiction Books, Christmas Accessories, and Stationery were the best-performing categories at The Works over Christmas. Given that the discounter is recognised for selling toys & games, alongside arts, crafts, and stationery, it is concerning that this category is not one of its top performers, indicating that it missed out on the opportunity to capitalise on increased spending on toys & games over the festive season.
“The Works was the fourth most-used retailer among book gift shoppers and among stationery gift shoppers, and the ninth most-used retailer among toys & games gift shoppers, according to GlobalData’s Christmas survey. This shows that to appeal to its broad customer base, which includes adults buying for small children, it must expand further into the toys & games sector as this is key to its success. To enhance its performance in toys & games, The Works could host events such as toy demonstrations and introduce special promotions focused on this category to attract customers and boost sales. Collaborating with popular toy brands to launch exclusive, limited-edition products can also help draw in customers seeking unique options and drive interest in the retailer’s toys & games range.”
*GlobalData’s Christmas report surveyed 2,500 UK consumers immediately after Christmas 2024.
