An ecommerce sales boost of 35% has helped SuperGroup, owner of the Superdry brand, to a 27.2% rise in sales in its latest financial year.
Retail sales rose by 12.7% in the year to April 29, on a like-for-like basis that strips out the effect of store openings and closures. They were up by 9.4%, like-for-like, in the fourth quarter alone, according to a full-year trading update out this week.
The retailer said while its global presence meant that its sales had benefited from the weakness of sterling during the year, with this factor accounting for around a third of growth in each sales channel, the figures also showed its multichannel strategy was paying off.
“We remain focused on the consistent execution of the strategy outlined in early 2015,” said chief executive Euan Sutherland. “This global multichannel growth strategy balances opening stores, developing new wholesale partners and driving our strong ecommerce proposition to expand the reach of the brand and further diversify our business model.”
He said growth had also come as the retailer improved its product ranges, introduced new categories to keep the brand relevant, improved infrastructure, and invested in development markets. It enjoyed strong ecommerce growth in one of its development markets, the USA.
SuperGroup said its work to develop regional distribution facilities in Europe and the US remained on track. It said this had been a year of progress both for its brand and its strategy.
“With a clear strategy and a number of long term opportunities to establish Superdry as a global lifestyle brand we remain confident in the continued delivery of sustainable revenue and profit growth,” said Sutherland.
Superdry is a Top100 retailer in IRUK Top500 research. It has 863 stores and concessions in 62 countries, while its ecommerce business sells via 27 websites in 12 different languages and 18 country-specific sites. During the year the retailer reached 1m sq ft in owned trading space – it has 555 Superdry branded stores.
