Web investments begin to pay off for upmarket lingerie retailer

La Senza has increased its profit before tax on ordinary activities by a third - from £9 million to £12 million - for the year ending March 27 last year. The upmarket lingerie retailer said sales increased by 14 per cent to £72 million. It also opened nine stores over the period.

The retailer said the investment in its web site had also started to pay off. Chairman Theo Paphitis said: ‘I am confident [the website] will continue to perform well and make a significant contribution to the overall business.’ The retailer also attributed its gains to a central distribution model, based on a new logistics centre at Crewe in Cheshire.

Paphitis said sales and profit for the first quarter would be in line with analysts’ expectations.