Superdry issues FY24 profit warning amid mild weather

Superdry has warned on profits for the 26-week period ended 28 October, attributing a 13% year-on-year drop in sales to “abnormally mild” weather. 

While the retailer expected wholesale to be down 41.1% year-on-year due to its decision to exit its US wholesale operation, it was also driven by “timing differences and the underperformance of the channel”. 

The group’s trading update comes despite progress on its cost savings programme and inventory reduction.

As a result, Superdry has secured a secondary lending facility of up to £25m with Hilco Capital Limited, which will provide improved liquidity to help the implementation of the turnaround plan and cost efficiency programme. 

Since the first half, the group has seen more encouraging trends and a pick-up in sales. However, sales in the six weeks since H1 are still down roughly 7% on a like-for-like basis. 

Julian Dunkerton, founder and CEO of Superdry, said: “The unseasonal weather through the early autumn led to a delayed uptake of our Autumn/Winter range and this impacted sales in the first half of the year. Whilst we have seen modest signs of improvement through the recent spell of colder weather, current trading has remained challenging, and this is reflected in the weaker than expected business performance. 

“The operational progress we have made in the first half has been more encouraging with the IP sale for the South Asian region and strong progress on our cost efficiency programme.”