Boux Avenue reports “significant progress” following its 2019 review
Lingerie retailer Boux Avenue made “significant progress” following its strategic review in 2019 and reduced its losses on the back of 9.1% sales growth.
Total sales at the lingerie retailer increased by 9.1% in the year to 31 March 2021, compared with the same period in 2019. Underlying EBITDA losses reduced to £3.5m, from the previously reported loss of £14.9m – an underlying improvement of £11.4m.
It said performance was boosted by 129.7% growth in online sales and had seen its performance “further improve” during the current year.
Boux Avenue which has 29 stores across the UK reported a 50.6% rise in sales in the six weeks to 24 December, compared to the equivalent period in 2019.
Theo Paphitis, chairman of the Theo Paphitis Retail Group, which comprises Boux Avenue, Ryman and Robert Dyas, said: “Boux Avenue has made excellent progress in the last financial year and had a strong Christmas, with the investment in ecommerce and product development in particular enabling this performance.
“Having come through a difficult period, our strategic review and implementation of this has seen the business well set for the future. Our customers have responded positively to our ranges and demonstrated their loyalty to the brand through switching between channels. This was demonstrated by the underlying EBITDA improving by £11.4m in the last financial year.”
In the financial update, the Theo Paphitis Retail Group said its “strong growth” shows its resilience through the pandemic, and how its stores and online business have “worked together”.
Total group sales were up 15.6 percent in the six weeks to December 24, against the same period in 2019, which it states is the only meaningful measure, given the lockdown impact to trade in 2020. This growth was attributed to strong performance across all brands in e-commerce, which increased by 87.5 percent compared with 2019, while store sales dropped by 6.3 percent.
