Double-digit growth takes Festive Lights sales beyond £4m

Festive Lights, the Chorley-headquartered lighting specialist, has enjoyed its most prosperous trading year to date, following record sales of its products in the UK and Europe.

Indoor, outdoor and decorative lighting sales rose by 41 per cent during 2015-16, with overall turnover increasing by 14 per cent to £4.4m.

Amazon turnover in the UK also rocketed by 112 per cent, compared to the previous year, to £833,000. Sales via the platform have been a major contributor to growth for the, predominantly, online business, which has premises in Charnock Richard and a retail outlet in Wigan. Amazon Prime, which guarantees next day delivery and Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) also helped to increase order volumes to 56,000, up from 22,000 in 2014-15.

To facilitate rising demand and continued growth, the firm has expanded its permanent staff numbers by more than a third during the last 12 months, with the biggest investments in marketing, purchasing, Amazon and eBay, and warehouse teams.

To capitalise on international sales success, Festive Lights is also launching its offering on Amazon Germany, eBay France and eBay Germany, later this year, and has just recruited a German language specialist to enable further penetration into the European market.

Another recent major investment has been the launch of the new Festive Lights website, which gives customers an enhanced shopping experience, and ensures the site is prepared for the Christmas peak. Last year, www.festive-lights.com received more than one million visits during November and December.

Stephen Alty, general manager at Festive Lights, said, “Our success in the last year has been phenomenal. Increasing traction in foreign markets will continue to be a major focus going forward and our investment in talented new team members and the new website investment will enable us to maintain our reputation for high levels of customer service and innovation.

“We’ve such an exciting year ahead with our warehouse and stock holding capacity soon doubling in size and the launch of a new third-party fulfilment and warehousing solution for local firms, set to make the next 12 months even better than the last.” The family-run business, pioneered by husband and wife, Mark and Margaret Higginson, has grown into an internationally-recognisable name since launching in 1999, distributing products to more than 30 countries.