In The Style’s fiscal year report exposes financial struggles prior to sale
In The Style, which was sold to ITS Holdings Ltd for a mere £1.2 million, has published an exposing financial report for the year ending 31 March 2023.
The company, which blamed the "broader market environment" for its dipping numbers delivered a revenue of £46 million, down by 19.8% from £57.3 million the year prior.
As it struggled to boost sales, adjusted EBITDA came in line with the latest trading statement amounting to a £4.3 million loss, in comparison to a £0.5 million increase the year prior.
Direct-to-consumer revenue declined by 11% year-on-year to £40 million, with a 1% decrease in the first half of the year and a 21% decline in the second half.
Established retail partnerships include Asos, Freemans and Zalando. Lipsy, Shop Direct, Studio Retail and About You. However, wholesale saw "modest" figures, decreasing by 52% to £6 million (making up 13% of total revenue).
Despite its dipping sales, the company tone of the filing made on Companies House remained positive. It saw an 8% increase in average selling price per unit, for example.
Moving ahead, In The Style plans to optimise its influencer-based business model. Last year, it launched over 140 collaborations and introduced over 2,500 new products. This included partnerships with Stacey Solomon, Jac Jossa, Perrie Sian and Carys Whittaker.
Looking ahead, the company stated: "We will continue to build on our success in growing our own brand proposition FITS, providing the customer with core 'always' available key product lines. Furthermore, net contribution has been determined as a key trading metric and will drive trading practices to deliver an increase in profitability.
"Net contribution improvements have been identified through disciplined stock management, increased full price product sell-through ratio, reduced stock obsolescence, improved return on investment of marketing budget via a dynamic channel mix, along with improved product sourcing."
This follows December's news that Adam Frisby, the CEO and Founder of In The Style, resigned after 10 years at the helm of the now multi-million-pound womenswear brand.
