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Superdry results hit by Coronavirus curbs

Gaelle Walker
05 November 2020

First half revenues at Superdry fell by 23.3% in the 26 weeks to 24 October as the company continues to be hit by “unprecedented levels of disruption and volatility,” as a result of Coronavirus restrictions.

The retailer, which as of today has temporarily closed 122 stores across England, Wales, France, Belgium and Ireland, said that online sales had helped to soften some of the impact of store closures, with ecommerce sales up 49.8% over the same 26-week period and like for like online sales up 51.9% in the last six weeks of the first half.

The improvement was driven by owned site sales, which increased 68.9% year-on-year coinciding with the launch of the brand’s new AW20 product and clearance of aged stock.

Like-for-like store trading in the last six weeks of the first half was down 32.4%, with UK trade impacted by continued social distancing measures, partially offset by stronger performance in Europe, where Superdry said footfall declines have been less severe.

Superdry said it had increased promotional activity to clear excess inventory and reduced full price mix and retail gross margin in the first half, while the focus on cost management and cash preservation actions had been maintained.

The brand’s reset remained on track, despite the disruption and it remained focused on maximising revenues over the Black Friday trading period from e-commerce. 

Superdry chief executive Julian Dunkerton said: "COVID-19 continues to disrupt our store and wholesale channels, but this is being partially mitigated by strong sales through our e-commerce operations.  

“This has been an important period for Superdry, with the launch of our full Autumn/Winter 20 ranges and a true focus on using our social channels to reach our customers and bring our brand reset to life.

“This activity is delivering record levels of engagement through our influencer-led Autumn campaigns, and we will focus our energies in this area over the coming months led by our new chief marketing officer, Justin Lodge.”

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