Music Magpie sees dip in full year sales
Music Magpie has posted a decline in full year sales after it returned to normal levels of trading following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Group revenue in the year to 30 November fell to £145.5 million from £153.3 million in the prior year, although the figure marked an increase of 10.7% on 2019 prior to when the pandemic struck.
Adjusted pre-tax profit was also down, falling to £7.9 million from £9.2 million in the previous year.
Music Magpie said it made good progress with its new device rental subscription service in the period, which was launched in October 2020, and said this has led it to expand into new product categories such as tablets, games consoles, MacBooks and wearables.
The company also embarked on a new sustainability partnership with Asda in which it will launch its SMARTDrop kiosks in nearly 300 Asda stores from this month.
Steve Oliver (pictured), chief executive and co-founder of Music Magpie, said: “This has been a landmark year in the history of Music Magpie, and I am hugely proud of everything that the business has achieved. We have delivered strong operational and strategic progress in our first year as a listed company, and have done so while staying true to our clear environmental and social focus and our long-standing ‘smart for you, smart for the planet’ ethos.”
Giving an update on more recent trading, the company said the strong sales momentum seen in the run-up to Christmas has continued into the current year. However, as the first quarter has progressed, volumes and trade-in activity levels have moderated in line with consumer trends.
Looking ahead, Oliver added: “In the current uncertain climate for consumers, the benefits of buying and renting refurbished consumer technology products, whilst helping the environment, has never been more compelling. We are particularly pleased with the progress being made by our rental subscription service, which provides customers with a more affordable and flexible option than an outright purchase or a pay-monthly contract. We are extremely excited about its future growth prospects, and scaling this area of the business further will be a major point of focus for us in the coming year.”
