The Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV) share price is on course to end the week with a solid gain.
In early trade, the fashion jewellery retailer's shares are up over 4% to a record high of $26.85.
This means the Lovisa share price is now up almost 35% since the start of the year.
Why is the Lovisa share price charging higher?
Investors have been buying Lovisa's shares again following the release of a trading update ahead of the company's annual general meeting.
According to the release, global comparable store sales for the first 19 weeks of FY 2023 continued the strong trajectory from the first 7 weeks and were up 16.1% on FY 2022 year to date.
Management notes that comparable store sales continue to be measured based on stores open and able to trade. Stores temporarily closed due to government-imposed lockdowns in either year are not included in the calculation for that period.
Total sales for the period are up 60% over the prior corresponding period.
Store expansion continues
Lovisa also revealed that it continues to expand its store network, with 47 net new stores opened for the year to date. This comprises 61 new stores opened and 14 closures.
This has taken Lovisa's store network to 676 stores across 26 countries, including four new markets opened in recent months. These include Canada and Poland, which opened at the end of FY 2022, and Namibia and Hong Kong in FY 2023.
This means that since this time last year, the company is currently trading over 100 more stores in 5 additional markets.
But it won't be stopping there! Lovisa's first stores in Italy, Mexico, and Hungary are due to open in the coming weeks.
