Ecommerce sales at fashion and lifestyle brand Joules have grown 48% to £122m for the year to 30 May, driving overall company revenues up by 4.3%.
The retailer saw revenues hit £199m – compared to £190.8m in 2020 – with ecommerce accounting for the lions share. It’s acquisition of Garden Trading also helped, contributing some £35.5m in sales.
That said, Garden Trading’s sales were down 17% on the previous year, impacted by store closures and the impact of Covid on its wholesale trading partners.
The retailer also saw stores closed for around six months out of this financial year, compared to around two months in the previous financial year, which has also impacted store sales. The contribution from Garden Trading, despite being lower than expected, has off-set these losses across the whole group.
The company has also managed to convert last year’s £3.9m loss into a pre-tax profit.
Joules CEO Nick Jones commts: “It is safe to say that FY21 was characterised by truly unprecedented trading conditions. Against this backdrop, the Group delivered strong strategic progress, including growing our digital proposition, increasing our active customer base, and further diversifying as a leading lifestyle platform with the successful acquisition of Garden Trading and the continued expansion of Friends of Joules.”
Jones adds: “At the centre of our growth strategy remains the strong Joules brand. During the year we continued to deliver on our brand’s clear mission and purpose – to brighten our customers’ lives and conduct business in a responsible way. As more and more consumers increasingly valued their leisure time spent outdoors and time doing the things they enjoy with the people they love, our brand has become increasingly relevant to a greater number of customers, reflected by brand health metrics reaching all-time highs.”
