Superdry sales impacted by lower footfall
Superdry saw its total revenue drop by 23.3% in the first half of its financial year after the business was affected by continuing disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the 26 weeks to 24 October, the clothing retailer saw fewer people visiting its stores, particularly those in big city centres. Like-for-like store sales were down 32.4% in the last six weeks of the period and by 44.8% across the half year, although this was partially offset by better performance in Europe where footfall declines have been less severe. As of 5 November, Superdry had 122 stores temporarily closed across England, Wales, France, Belgium and Ireland, compared to 117 stores still open and trading.
However, the retailer said its ecommerce business performed well in the period with sales particulary strong in the last six weeks when they rose by 51.9% year-on-year.
Measures introduced by the retailer in response to Covid-19 have included increased promotional activity to clear excess inventory and reducing the full price mix. Superdry said its brand transformation work remains on track despite the disruption and volatility caused by the pandemic.
Julian Dunkerton, Superdry chief executive, said: “Covid-19 continues to disrupt our store and wholesale channels, but this is being partially mitigated by strong sales through our ecommerce operations. This has been an important period for Superdry, with the launch of our full Autumn/Winter 20 ranges and a true focus on using our social channels to reach our customers and bring our brand reset to life.
“The external outlook is very uncertain. However, we have financial flexibility and are making good progress with our strategy and brand reset. We are determined to do the right thing by all our stakeholders – including colleagues, our retail and wholesale customers and investors – to ensure the business and brand returns to success.”
