Sales at Sosandar dropped by almost 30% in the last six months as it changed its pricing to encourage more shoppers to pay full RRP on their purchases.
The fashion retailer recorded sales of £16.1m for the six months ending 30 September 2024, down 27% from the same period last year, while pre-tax losses shrank 50% to £0.7m.
Sosandar said the change in revenue was a reflection of its “continued transition away from price promotional activity outside of the major scheduled sale events” as it reduced the number of price promotions on its site by 85%.
The retailer said in a statement: “During each month of the period, the year-on-year variance narrowed as the comparatives started to become more like for like, and importantly customers are becoming increasingly accustomed to the paying full RRP, as they do when purchasing through our third-party partners”.
During the period, Sosandar opened its first four physical stores in the UK, continued partnerships with Next and M&S, and launched in Arnotts in Dublin, Ireland.
Sosandar said its results reflected the prioritisation of margin enhancement and profitability – as gross margin reached 62.2%, versus 55.4% in the previous year.
Co-chief executives Ali Hall and Julie Lavington said: “The past six months have been incredibly important steps in Sosandar’s development. We are now well on our way to becoming a true multichannel retailer following the opening of our first four stores during the half. Seeing the Sosandar brand on high streets, and the reaction we have received so far, validates our decision to give our customers more ways to shop with our brand.
“Post period end we signed an agreement with Next for our brand to be licensed to develop a homeware range, providing further validation of the strength of the Sosandar brand. This shows the leverage and brand equity that we have built and will allow us to broaden our reach into new audiences and enable existing customers to deepen their affinity to our brand.
“Trading in the second half of the financial year to date has been encouraging, across all our channels, as we head into peak season. In the lead-up to Christmas we have seen extremely strong sales of occasionwear, knitwear, including knitted dresses, and denim.
“Looking ahead, we remain incredibly excited for what lies ahead for Sosandar as we take advantage of the multiple opportunities available to us, and we take the Sosandar brand to more customers across the UK and worldwide and continue on our journey to become one of the largest womenswear brands globally.”
No comments yet