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Superdry sales drop -11.3% in "year of reset"

Lauretta Roberts
07 November 2019

Superdry revenue tumbled -11.3% to £367.8m in the 26 weeks to 26 October, the company has revealed.

In a pre-close trading statement released this morning the fashion and lifestyle brand said the drop was expected in a "year of reset" for the business.

Founder and CEO Julian Dunkerton returned to the business in a boardroom coup in the Spring having left the business a year earlier after falling out with the previous management over strategy.

The company said it was working at clearing legacy stock from that period and trading in a highly promotional market. Superdry had stood its ground and opted out from discounting (70% of its sales came from full-price product versus 52% in the same period in the prior year), which led to a decline in sales but a higher gross margin.

Store sales were the hardest hit and down -11.7% during the period to £157.3m, but e-commerce was also down -10.5% to £57.9m and wholesale down -11.2% to £152.6m.

The decline in e-commerce had slowed as the company said it had begun injecting more choice into the range, adding a higher level of personalisation and improving customer experience.

Dunkerton said: "We are making good progress with the start to our turnaround plan for Superdry, returning the business to its design led roots. We have always said it will take time, but we have a strong team which is working incredibly hard to deliver this plan. I'm genuinely excited by new injection product which has started to land in stores for this peak and even more excited about the new ranges signed off for next year.

"We are moving the business away from a reliance on constant promotions, and while this focus on full price sales has affected revenue in the first half, this is being partially offset by a better gross margin performance. There is good momentum in the business, and I remain confident of returning Superdry to sustainable long-term growth."

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