Joules chief executive Colin Porter said the fashion retailer had successfully developed its lifestyle brand across sales channels in the last year, as it reported a 12.7% rise in revenue today.
The multichannel fashion retailer, an IRUK Top100 company in IRUK Top500 research, said in an end-of-year trading statement that group revenue rose to £131.3m in the 52 weeks to May 29, 12.7% up on the previous year.
Retail sales across channels rose by 11% to £93.7m, and wholesale sales by 17.6% to £37.2m. International sales now represent just over 10% of group revenue.
“This has been a year of great progress in further developing Joules as a fun, family, ‘time-off’ lifestyle brand across multiple sales channels both in the UK and internationally,” said Porter.
“We have a clear growth strategy of increasing customer value; rolling-out UK stores; accelerating international growth; and delivering product extensions. The energy, skill and commitment of the Joules team and the unique design of our products underpins this strategy. We remain confident in continuing to deliver further growth as a listed company.”
First figures as a public company
These are Joules’ first published figures as a public company. The retailer floated on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market last month. Before that it set out its vision of expanding at home and abroad through a “balanced multichannel proposition.” At the time it said 46% of sales took place through stores, 22% through ecommerce and 27% through wholesale. Joules has 98 stores in the UK has opened an average of 12 a year in the last three years, and plans to open more.
To that end, it plans to grow its customers in number, and in the value and frequency of their spending. Ahead of last month’s floatation, it described its target, female, customer as aged between 25 and 54 years, shopping for themselves and the family. It now aims to target and personalise its communications and website content as it looks to recruit, retain and develop customers, while also improving its single view of the customer.
The retailer was founded in 1989 by Tom Joule, now an executive director of the listed company, of which Neil McCausland is non-executive chairman.
