Sosandar sees full-year revenue jump 9% ahead of opening first stores

Womenswear brand Sosandar has reported annual revenue of £46.3 million, up 9% year-on-year for the financial year ending 31 March 2024, with its first physical stores planned this year.

It also saw improved gross margin of 57.6% - up from 56.1% last year, and the company says that the year-on-year improvement reflects its strategic decision to introduce "a more targeted approach to price promotional activity ahead of a selective store roll out in the UK, resulting in less frequent and less deep discounts".

As a result, H2 saw the company deliver a substantial upswing in profitability of £1.1 million, following a £1.3 million loss in H1, "demonstrating the impact of improved revenue and gross margin". FY24 trading overall was broadly in line with market expectations.

Sosandar Co-CEOs, Ali Hall and Julie Lavington, said: "We have delivered a robust financial performance for FY24, delivering a profitable second half, accelerating revenue growth whilst at the same time growing our margin and generating cash.

"This performance has been achieved against one of the most challenging backdrops our industry has experienced and is testament to how our customers feel about our on-trend, affordable, long lasting, lifestyle appropriate clothes.

"The strength of our brand and unique product range remain the key drivers of our success and keep our customers returning to us for their wardrobe needs. We are incredibly proud to see the success that our Sosandar clothes are having in the UK's biggest retailers and through our first partnerships internationally.

"We enter the new financial year well placed, with a strong cash position in order to execute the next stage of our growth strategy. April trading has been strong, with continued improvement in profitability driven in particular by gross margin.

"We fully expect that we will deliver more milestones in FY25 as we open our first physical retail stores and continue to take the Sosandar brand to more customers across the UK and worldwide."

The Sosandar website remains the bedrock of the brand and that channel was strengthened with the launch of its app in July 2023, which it says has performed very well.

Trading with the company's well established third-party partners has also continued to be "strong", with the success of its product resulting in Sosandar being one of the top selling brands across all third-party partners, including NEXT and M&S.

This has helped drive further growth in brand awareness and led to increased partner opportunities, such as the collaboration launched with Freemans in September 2023.

Where and when Sosandar will open its first UK standalone stores is yet to be revealed.