Following today’s release of The Very Group’s Christmas and Black Friday figures for the six weeks ending 27 December 2025; Ashley Adeyemi, retail analyst at GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform, offers her view: “The Very Group posted mixed peak trading results for Christmas and Black Friday 2025, with Group retail sales for the six weeks ending 27 December falling 0.4% year-on-year, marking Very’s first decline in Group sales for the festive period in the years post-pandemic. While Very UK delivered modest growth of +1.9%, the Group’s decline reflects the pressures of a financially constrained customer base and a soft non-food market more broadly.
“Home continues to be Very’s strongest category, with sales up 7.9% as the retailer reaped the rewards of recent range expansion through the launch of Very Home in 2025, and the addition of 50 new Home brands to its marketplace. As one of the Group’s most profitable categories, Home aligns with Very’s focus on margin-led growth, although the retailer will need to maintain momentum in the category once Very Home is firmly established.
“Toys and beauty also delivered a solid performance (+6.4%); in beauty, this reflected demand for affordable indulgence during a financially tight season. This was supported by a Christmas-themed “Very Godmother” marketing campaign featuring Alison Hammond and the retailer’s flamingo characters, showcasing the season’s most-wanted gifts to drive inspiration and demonstrate range, while reinforcing affordability through ‘Very Pay’ messaging. Credit continues to be a key part of the Group’s proposition, and its flexible payment model likely supported basket sizes during the festive season. Very’s core customer typically favours purchasing items using credit options, which has helped insulate demand to a degree, but it also introduces sensitivity as interest rates fluctuate.
“Very has not disclosed sales figures for electricals beyond reference to strong demand for the Nintendo Switch 2 (a key new gaming launch), which implies underperformance in a category that typically sees uplift with highly anticipated gaming releases. This reinforces Very’s need to broaden its electricals proposition to sustain growth outside of high-profile tech launches. Fashion was also notably absent from Very’s release. Relative to ultra-fast-fashion giants like Shein, Very’s offer appears weaker on trendiness and pace, limiting its ability to capture trend-led demand and garner repeat engagement. This is compounded by a lack of high-impact marketing to clearly land fashion credentials and value, so the category struggles to shift perception and deliver consistent momentum.
“While EBITDA growth of 15.9% in FY24/25 (52 weeks ending 28 June 2025) and higher-margin product mix improvements have strengthened Very’s financial profile, buyers of Very, as private equity owner Carlyle explores selling the business, will be looking for clearer signs of sustainable, multi-category growth. Success in Home shows that focused category investment can drive returns, but the challenge now is to replicate that across less developed areas of the business.
