Superdry welcomes strong Autumn trading
Much of the recent improvement was attributed to its e-commerce channel, which was up 6.6% on a two-year basis
Superdry has welcomed an “encouraging” start to its Autumn trading season, with revenue up by 8.8% against last year in the eight weeks to 23 October, and by 17.2% against the same period in FY20.
While the group welcomed an improvement in its retail channel performance across the eight-week period, it said the full-price performance seen through the Summer has also translated into a stronger overall performance going into the peak Autumn months.
It added that its core categories are resonating well, with AW21 jackets “particularly strong”, while its womenswear mix was up by 8% against FY20.
Much of the recent improvement was attributed to its e-commerce channel, which was up 6.6% on a two-year basis, largely supported by its growing investment in social marketing.
Nonetheless, it said that the pandemic continues to materially impact its physical store trading. Its performance in the first half of the year was negatively impacted by temporary closures in Europe, for example, as well as the permanent closure of 15 stores, including Regent Street in July.
It noted that footfall remains subdued in all markets and was still down 27% in the UK despite the easing of Covid-related restrictions. Despite this, it said that store revenue has begun to recover and is up 21.7% year-on-year.
In addition, the group said it currently has no significant availability issues across retail operations arising from the current supply chain delays that are plaguing the retail sector.
Julian Dunkerton, founder and CEO, said: “Superdry is recovering well from the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic and I am really pleased with the start to the Autumn/Winter 2021 (‘AW21’) season, despite the ongoing disruption around the world. Once the new range landed and we began trading against a comparable full price period, we saw an acceleration into positive 2-year Retail like-for-like growth.
“Our focus on full-price sales continues to deliver improvements in gross margin and I am pleased that we are ending the half with 10% fewer inventory units than last year. We are encouraged by the performance this strategy is starting to deliver, which gives me further confidence in the full year outlook.”
He added: “As consumers continue to return to stores, I am really excited about the opening of our new flagship store in Oxford Street on 10 November which will be a big statement about the future of the brand, offering the broadest range of sustainable product in our portfolio.
“It will showcase the full spectrum of our new ranges and will become a London base for the wholesale showroom and our influencer programme, which is a key pillar of the brand’s digital first strategy.”
