Sosandar, the online womenswear specialist, has posted a rise in first-half sales and said investment was powering progress at the business.

Sosandar’s revenue climbed 53% to £2.82 million in the six months to September 30. The retailer made an underlying EBITDA loss of £2.7m – up from £1.9m in the comparable period – which it said reflected “increased upfront investment into the team, product and marketing”.

Sosandar posted order growth of 47% to 64,709 in the first half, when “active customers increased by 70% reflecting the increased brand awareness following the trial of new marketing initiatives”.

The retailer said there had been ”sales growth of well over 100% in October” and that it is on track to meet full-year management expectations.

Sosandar joint chief executives Ali Hall and Julie Lavington said: “The investments that were made in the latter part of the second quarter have resulted in exceptional Autumn trading.

”Post period end, October was particularly notable, as we hit a special milestone - the first month where net revenues exceeded £1 million, a performance which November is on course to exceed.

”It is becoming increasingly clear that once customers engage with Sosandar’s product range and unique design aesthetics they remain loyal to, and highly engaged with the brand. We have seen continued database growth post period, with our number of subscribers in September up 26% month on month and new subscribers tracking over 300% up versus the same period last year.

”Our vision is to be a global one-stop online destination for our customers, and with a widened product range, strong balance sheet, and a broadened, aggressive, and increasingly effective marketing strategy, we are confident that full-year ’20 will be an important next step in that journey.”