Boden has posted an increase in full-year profits and sales bolstered by a growing overseas customer base and strong womenswear performance.

The fasion retailer’s pre-tax profits rose 4% to £27.3m in the year to December 2017, spurred by a 13% boost in group sales to £347.1m.

It reported a record 14% rise in its number of active customers in its overseas markets during the period, while its UK sales growth was driven by a strong performance across its womenswear lines and John Lewis concessions.

Jill Easterbrook

Chief executive Jill Easterbrook said: “We made strong progress last year and were delighted with the results achieved; 2017 saw a year of considerable investment and this will continue for the next few years. The investment programme will provide us with a solid platform as we build Boden into an international multichannel retailer.

“We have been targeting key strategic areas of investment, skills, market knowledge and people needed to continue Boden’s international growth in the coming years. The organisational restructuring within the business will enable us to be even more customer focussed and market driven, whilst at the same time maintaining our strong Boden brand.”

The retailer plans to plough further investment into its ecommerce platform and personalisation capabilities in the coming financial year.