What: Selfridges' operating profit rose 88% to £79.7m on a 7% rise in revenue to £830.8m, and its CEO is urging the government to bring back tax-free shopping for international visitors.

Why it is important: Selfridges' recovery came with a longer trading period and a fall in digital sales, yet its CEO still frames the absence of tax-free shopping as a policy headwind, which shows how much UK luxury department stores tie their outlook to tourist spending.

Selfridges posted an operating profit of £79.7m in the 13 months to January 3, up 88% from £42.2m a year earlier. Accounts filed at Companies House, first seen by The Times, show the result was helped by a longer 52-week financial period, against 48 weeks the year before. Revenue rose 7% to £830.8m, with strong footfall across the store estate offsetting a decline in digital sales. Pre-tax profit was £13m, against a £15.9m loss a year earlier, but operating profit drove the improvement.

Chief executive André Maeder said the growth came despite a difficult retail and macroeconomic backdrop, and that policy choices, including the abolition of tax-free shopping for international visitors, had made conditions harder. He is encouraged to see the issue back on the political agenda and urged the government, under new prime minister Andy Burnham, to restore it, arguing it would boost high streets and unlock growth across the UK.

Burberry and Mulberry are among other brands calling for the restoration of tax-free shopping. Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch has said she would bring it back, warning that retailers are closing shops and asking why shoppers should be sent to France or Italy.

IADS Notes: Selfridges' rebound comes after a period in which the loss of tax-free shopping weighed heavily on UK luxury retail. Retail Week (February 2026) estimated that its removal cost the UK more than £1bn in lost retail spending, with cities such as Oslo and Paris gaining ground. BoF (April 2026) linked the shift of international shoppers to Paris and Milan to a 7% drop in Selfridges' revenues in 2024, and reported that the retailer responded with 40 Duke, a private club for customers spending at least £20,000 a year. Selfridges has since leaned further into experience-led trading: WWD (August 2026) described a strategy built on more than 400 pop-ups and 650 events last year, with CEO André Maeder saying the store now competes with restaurants, culture and leisure spending as well as other department stores. Harrods offers a comparison: Fashion Network (August 2026) reported a return to a £84.9m pre-tax profit, while operating profit slipped to £172.3m, and noted that London's luxury department stores continue to cite the absence of tax-free shopping and higher National Insurance costs as headwinds.

Selfridges profits soar as it calls for tax-free shopping return