Profits double at MOSS as it capitalises on post-pandemic event boom

MOSS has capitalised on the boom in weddings and other events post-pandemic posting profits up more than 100% and sales up 63% in the year ending January 2023.

Turnover during the year was up 62% to £151.6 million (2022: £93.1 million) while EBITA was up 112% to £36 million.

The menswear chain, which rebranded from Moss Bros to MOSS, opened five new stores during the financial year with a further 10 new stores in the pipeline. It also revamped the customer experience on its website at www.moss.co.uk and has joined online marketplaces with NEXT and John Lewis.

CEO Brian Brick said the business, previously best known for its formalwear, had benefited from the nation's desire to get dressed up again after the lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic. However a pivot to add more casualwear to the product mix had also reaped rewards with casualwear now representing a "significant" portion of revenue.

“I was never in doubt that people would welcome the opportunity to dress up again especially with the inevitable pent-up demand from the weddings, races, proms and black tie dinners that we have seen throughout the last year or so. 

Black tie events have driven demand for dresswear

“Our omni-channel approach ensures a continued focus on stores backed with a strong on-line offering. This has been enhanced with the opening of new stores and our expansion onto online digital marketplaces. 

“We have completely reimagined the product offering for the way our customers are living today. We’ve also pivoted from a formal hire business that sold tailoring to a menswear fashion brand that sells suiting, complemented by smart casualwear, while offering a rental service.

“As I said last year, we have seen consumer behaviours continue to change. The key to our success has been the ability to remain agile and meet the evolving wants and needs of our menswear audience. This approach remains the central pillar to our growth and for what MOSS stands for both now and in the future,” Brick said.

How MOSS enacted its post-pandemic recovery

Formalwear was hit hard by the pandemic as lockdowns prevented social events from taking place and office workers were sent home. But the business has reinvented itself for the new post-pandemic world and the results are evident in the latest numbers. Here's how it did it.

The new MOSS fascia

MOSS but no Bros

The Moss Bros name goes back 172 years (1851) to when Moses Moss opened two stores in Covent Garden. While the company remains proud of its heritage it wanted to be known for more than just formalwear so a rebrand was put in place to reflect "the modern, more diverse, digital, omni-channel retailer we are today without losing our amazing heritage."

The MOSS brand can be seen on the fascias of its new stores and on its website with existing stores to be changed as part of a wider refurb.

Casualwear now represents a "significant" portion of revenue

Casualwear growth

To complement new hybrid lifestyles, MOSS introduced more casualwear into its offer as customer mixed formalwear with more casual options. Casualwear now makes up "a significant component" of revenues. 

Moss.co.uk

A new cleaner, easier to shop experience has been launched presenting product in a more editorial and aspirational way. New added value services have also been added such as the "suit builder" and swatch service which allows customers to have fabric samples sent to their home. In-store appointments can also be booked online.

On the high street

Since March 2022 it has opened five new stores in Woking, Bristol, Brighton, Eastbourne and Jermyn Street. It has also moved into brand new stores in five other locations in Canary Wharf, Cheapside, Watford and Oxford and Shrewsbury. It has a strong pipeline for expansion with up to ten new stores and some significant resites over the next 12 months. 

An on-going refurb programme aligns with its decision to use just the MOSS name and to improve store experience.

Demand for tailoring remains strong

Marketplaces

MOSS has already joined NEXT and John Lewis and has plans to join further digital marketplaces in the coming months.

Hire

MOSS is most famous for its suit hire and this remains a focus with demand in the are continuing to grow. The resurgence of formal events post-pandemic and stimulated demand.

Tailoring

The predicted demise of the suit post-pandemic has not come to pass with demand said to be as buoyant as ever. What has changed, however, is the "concept of the suit as a uniform" with customers choosing to wear suits and mixing and matching more formal and casual options.