Online retailer Very.co.uk has bucked woes among high street rivals with a hike in Christmas sales but wider group trading was hampered by its sister brand Littlewoods.
The Very Group - which was rebranded from Shop Direct on Monday - reported a 6.1% rise in sales for Very.co.uk over the seven weeks to December 27 due to strong demand for its fashion and electrical ranges.
Total group retail sales growth - at 2.5% over the period - was pegged back by double-digit declines at Littlewoods, while overall revenues remained flat.
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The group did not provide separate sales figures for Littlewoods but trading was in line with expected declines of around 10% to 12%.
Very Group chief executive Henry Birch said this week's rebrand reflects its shift to focus on the Very.co.uk brand, with Littlewoods now accounting for less than a quarter of sales.
But he said former catalogue giant Littlewoods was a "historical legacy" that is set to remain a part of the group for the "foreseeable future".
Mr Birch said Very.co.uk performed "healthily" above the wider online non-food market, with fashion and sportswear sales up 9.6% and electrical up 5.7%.
Total revenue, including financial services, lifted 3.4%.
Cinema chain Everyman Media Group has said annual underlying earnings are expected to surge by 30% to £12 million after notching up a 25% rise in group sales to £65 million over the year to January 2.
In an end-of-year update, the firm said it managed to increase its market share to 3.1% from 2.5% in 2018 despite a wider 1.9% drop in UK box office takings.
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Chief executive Crispin Lilly hailed it a "solid result for the year".
It opened a record seven cinemas last year, taking its total to 110.
Investment in new bowling alley technology and refurbishments has helped tenpin group Ten Entertainment notch up its eighth year in a row of sales growth.
The firm - which is the second largest tenpin bowling group in the UK - posted an 8% rise in like-for-like sales over the year to December 29, with growth picking up to 8.6% in the final six months.
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Total revenues jumped 10.2% to £84.1 million.
It said its performance had been boosted by recent moves to install new "pins and strings" technology in its lanes, which has been rolled out across 70% of its 45 bowling alleys so far.
The technology - which uses strings attached to the pins to reset and remove once knocked down - has improved the efficiency of how pins are removed, which makes for a smoother game and boosts alley turnover.
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