Mamas & Papas, the UK-based maternity-wear-to-baby/toddler products specialist, had a strong Christmas season and has ambitious plans for the year ahead.

The company has reported total group sales up 5% year on year for the 13 weeks to 29 December and said group gross profit was up 8% over the same period.

It said its record sales performance in the Black Friday and Christmas trading period was driven by strength in both its UK and overseas operations.

While its biggest market is Britain, overseas sales increased 80% in the period, and 20 new overseas locations are planned for 2025 across Spain, South East Asia and Australia.

That overall 5% group sales rise included stores, online and wholesale, “as new and expectant parents shopped its expanding range of travel systems, nursery furniture, toys and baby clothes”. In fact, retail sales were up 8% in the period, reaching 13% over the Black Friday week.

While growth was driven primarily by the brand’s expanded toys and gifts category, clothing was part of that. The strength included its Welcome to the World collection, which covers coordinated toys, accessories and clothing ranges.

The brand also said its UK market share reached a new peak of 20% in November, according to the latest GfK data. And it managed to maintain price levels, despite heavy discounting across the retail sector.

The company currently operates 21 standalone stores as well as 40 UK concessions with M&S and Next. In December, it opened its biggest ever concession with M&S in Lisburn, near Belfast.

But it has also been focusing on overseas spaces and has opened 29 international concessions in the past 18 months with El Corte Ingles in Spain, MAP Active in Indonesia and Central Department Store Group in Thailand, hence the festive season overseas sales leap. 

Those plans for 20 new international locations will play out over the next 12 months and include a new partnership with leading Australian department store, Myer.

Mamas & Papas CEO Nathan Williams said of its recent performance and future plans: “This was another record golden quarter for the brand, with a particularly strong contribution from our bricks and mortar estate. We’re also seeing a growing momentum from our overseas business, where we’ve laid excellent foundations over the past 18 months with several key partners in our core markets. This is an important area of expansion for our brand over the next 12 months as demand for our high-quality baby and nursery products continues to grow. 

“Whilst the macroeconomic situation continues to weigh heavily on consumer sentiment, the enduring strength of the nursery and baby category and the growing presence of our brand in the UK and overseas gives us a lot of confidence in the year ahead. Meanwhile our growing data capabilities mean we’re better able to tailor support for new and expectant parents and be even more helpful at critical points of their pregnancy journey.”