Card Factory has said initial sales have “exceeded expectations” since reopening stores as it completed a £225 million refinancing deal. The embattled high street firm said it will use the cash to strengthen its online proposition for customers and improve its capacity to deal with sales demand. It said that sales for the five weeks from April 12 were “marginally” down against the same period in 2019, before the pandemic struck. Lower retail footfall has been largely offset by increased spending per customer, Card Factory said. “The strong trading performance in our stores over the last few weeks reflects the extensive preparations to maximise meeting our customers’ needs completed by the wider Card Factory team.”Card Factory shares fell by 14% to 73.87p in early trading.

Source: Irish Independent May 21, 2021 09:00 UTC