Matchesfashion losses widened by Covid-19
Matchesfashion has revealed heavy loses for the year ending January 31 2021, reporting a loss of £36.6 million.
The company has cited the impacts of the pandemic and the “additional cost and complexity” of Brexit, according to business accounts filed with the UK’s Companies House.
The retailer last year reported a loss of £5.9 million while its revenues have declined for the first time since launching its ecommerce offerings in 2007, dropping nearly 10 per cent to £392 million.
The global supply chain disruptions have also squeezed full price selling windows for the fashion retailer as well as a decline in the demand for occasion wear and holiday clothing, two of the most popular categories for Matchesfashion.
The company has suffered as a result of major investment in operations, technology and infrastructure as part of a bid to scale the business pre-pandemic, pushing it into the red.
As well as the financial challenges the company is facing, Matchesfashion is also on its third chief executive in as many years.
In a bid to help ease some of the financial pressures of the pandemic, the retailer raised £45 million from its parent company Apax Partners last year in order to pay brands and creditors.
The move helped in reducing the company’s debt to trade creditors to £26.7 million from £83.4 million the previous year.
It added to this by raising another £40 million from its parent to boost the company’s liquidity position and “fund future growth” in February.
