Superdry interim sales leap on back of strong digital performance

Superdry achieved a 20.4% increase in half-one revenues to £402m in the 28 weeks to 28 October 2017 and attributed its strong performance to its "disruptive multichannel approach".

During the period retail revenue was up 12.8% to £242.7m (with like-for-likes up 6.3%) and e-commerce sales were up 31.6%. Store revenue was up 7.6% to £181.5m while wholesale was up 34.1% to £159.3m.

Profitability too achieved strong growth with underlying profit before income tax up 20.5% to £25.3m with gross margin achieved coming in at a slightly reduced 57.1%.

The business also achieved strong growth over the all-important Christmas trading period saying it had achieved global brand revenue of £314.4m, up by 13.6% year-on-year, in the 10 weeks to 6 January. Group revenue was £215.6m, which was 12.6% higher than the prior year, while group retail like-for-like growth was up 4.7%.

During the period, wholesale revenues grew by 20.4%, e-commerce revenues increased by 30.5% and retail stores, including the store expansion programme, which saw average trading space increase by 13.9% for the period, delivered sales growth of 3.1%.

Chief executive Euan Sutherland said the brand further strengthened it position and remained "obsessed with quality and design". "We have delivered another strong performance demonstrating the unique advantages and attractiveness of Superdry and its relevance to customers around the globe. Our growth through our eight channels to market has further diversified the brand, both geographically and across channels, while continued innovation has further widened our product offer," he said.