DEPARTMENT store Debenhams offered some cheer for shoppers as it signalled the recent surge in cotton prices may have peaked.
The chain hopes commodity prices such as cotton, which has rocketed in the past year, could fall back and ease some of the pressure on consumers and the margins of retailers such as Debenhams.
Its underlying profits rose 4.5% to £129.2m in the 26 weeks to February 26, despite flat same-store sales, as it focused on higher-margin private label and designer brands, and, while it gave no indication about its current trading performance, it underlined its improved prospects by reporting its first dividend since 2008.
Many retailers, such as HMV, Mothercare and Currys and PC World-parent Dixons Retail, have warned on profits as they have struggled to pass on rising prices to cautious shoppers, so Debenhams’ prediction that costs could ease will come as a boost.
Debenhams, which has 167 stores in the UK and Ireland including its Liverpool One site, said it was encouraged by strong sales from its exclusive ranges from designers such as Jonathan Saunders, Preen and Jasper Conran.
Sales through its internet arm Debenhams Direct rose 82% with the help of a new mobile phone app.
