Lifestyle retailer Joules has seen another boost to trading, with revenues up 35% across the group driven by strong online sales, an improving picture in stores and a surge in its Garden Trading company.
Group revenue for H1 2022 hit £128m, a 35% rise on the previous year, with ecommerce growing 14%. Online the retailer has seen strong growth across the pandemic and it has maintained this momentum into the half, driven by strong sales in Garden Trading and the performance of third-party ecommerce platforms.
Gross platform demand1 across Joules’ _websites increased by 2% against a transformational prior year supported by continued growth within the Friends of Joules marketplace. Garden Trading revenues increased 4% year-on-year and 77% on a two-year basis despite global supply chain disruption.
Store sales rose 80% year-on-year as lockdowns ended, bringing it to just 3% shy of its pre-pandemic levels despite lower high street footfall. This reflects the attractive locations of the Joules store estate as well as the opening during the second half of FY21 of five Centre Parcs locations, which have performed particularly well, says the company.
The well-documented global supply chain issues have resulted in some higher costs and stock delays during the Period. In addition, labour shortages in our third-party operated distribution centre (DC) have resulted in extended product delivery times to online customers, stores and wholesale partners. These factors were particularly acute in November, including the Black Friday period, which alongside weaker year on year online traffic contributed to performance during this month being below expectations.
Nick Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Joules, comments: “Joules has achieved good revenue growth against the prior two comparative periods reflecting the strength of the flexible model and despite a challenging external trading environment. Alongside the strong appeal of our core Joules brand, the Group continues to benefit from its increased diversification through Friends of Joules and Garden Trading, both of which continue to give customers even more reasons to shop with us.”
“While we have not been immune to certain industry-wide pressures including supply chain disruption and cost inflation, we remain focused on delivering the group’s long-term growth strategy. We have continued to invest in the business to support our plans and, despite the high levels of near-term consumer uncertainty, we remain very confident in achieving the group’s exciting future potential.”
