Superdry sales plunge during covid-19 crisis
Superdry has said its fourth quarter performance has been “substantially impacted” by the coronavirus pandemic.
Group revenue was down 36.9% in the three month period after in-store sales plunged by 57% due to shop closures across Europe during lockdowns. In contrast, online sales increased by 6.8%.
Superdry closed its first stores in Italy on 11 March and by 22 March all stores across Europe, the US and the UK had been shuttered. The retailer said online sales have been almost doubling in the last four weeks to around £3.7 million per week compared to the average pre-lockdown. This has offset approximately one third of the lost store sales.
Julian Dunkerton, Superdry chief executive, said: “Our first priority through the pandemic has been supporting our colleagues and communities through what is a very uncertain time. We are proud to have supported the NHS and other key workers close to our Gloucestershire headquarters, for instance through donating 300,000 items of vital PPE to local care homes.
“As with all retailers, the covid-19 pandemic has caused major disruption to our business operations and supply chain. I am pleased with the accelerating shift in sales to online, and we’ve seen a particularly good performance from our women’s ranges which, for the first time ever, are accounting for around half our sales.”
The figures mean that Superdry’s full year sales have fallen by 19.1% to £705.5 million. The retailer has now confirmed that it will delay its July announcement of its full year results by five to eight weeks.
Dunkerton added: “We continue to work hard so that the business can emerge stronger from this extraordinary period. It will take time to return to normality, for now we remain open for business online through superdry.com, our stores in Europe have begun to reopen and I am excited by our new ranges for the autumn/winter season.”
