UK bed retailer Bensons for Beds has reported a return to profitability over the past year, in the midst of a challenging economic environment and suppressed consumer sentiment.
Its latest results showed that turnover for the 53 weeks to 30 September grew by 7.5% to £257.5mn from £239.4mn in 2022. It also reported EBITDA profit of just over £1.5mn, following a loss of £15.4mn in 2022.
The growth follows the brand’s recovery plan set out in 2022, which has also seen the successful stabilisation of the business.
“There is an old retail saying to the effect that you should focus on the KPIs that you can control. Faced with lacklustre market demand, the Bensons team have done just that – focusing on sales conversion and Average Transaction Value in order to make the most of what demand there was, and on delivering a first-class customer experience both during and after sales were made and products delivered,” the retailer said in the statement.
“That focus proved extremely effective, with all these controllable KPIs moving in the right direction. The ultimate measure of that is in the financial results which follow these pages, which show strong revenue growth and a return to profitability despite the challenging market.”
During the past 12 months, Bensons has made continued investment in its omni channel and digital capability, which has yielded positive results with digital LFL of +22%. The brand now has 277,000 members within its new “Bedheads” community and is creating valuable customer communication and marketing opportunities.
In February, the bed retailer announced it is working to improve its dropship capabilities and provide a richer shopping experience for its customers by expanding its online product range, as it partners with Virtualstock.
Furthermore, it has increased store conversion with 14 new store openings across the year including Bensons re-entry into markets such as Peterborough and Speke and new catchments including Edinburgh Craigleith and Edrington.
Nick Collard, CEO of Bensons for Beds, said: “Five months into the new financial year and in an external market which remains challenging, we continue to make progress, and our performance remains in line with our expectations. For the remaining months of the financial year we remain focused on those factors in our control; store number growth, investment in colleague training, product innovation and digital capability.”
It also successful acquired eveSleep.co.uk in October 2022. The brand was relaunched three weeks later following a rapid, effective and replicable integration into the existing Bensons systems and operational infrastructure. The brand has shown strong growth and contributed positive EBITDA since its relaunch.
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