Joules boss Tom Joule said the retailer’s international sales have almost doubled so far this year as it pushes ahead with its US expansion.
The fashion and lifestyle retailer revealed a 44% jump in international sales for the 52 weeks to May 25, 2014, but said that overseas growth has risen to almost 80% in its current financial year to date.
Total revenues soared 21.3% to £96.3m during the period and Joule said sales are poised to reach the £100m mark this year.
Joules’ ecommerce and catalogue sales rose 36%, driven by investment in its website and the roll-out of click-and-collect services in its stores.
A “seven figure” investment has also been ploughed into Joules’ growth in the US and Germany, a market it now services from its own warehouse in the country rather than through third-party distributors.
Joule said the retailer is making “a real push” in the US having opened a showroom in New York.
“We have done a lot of work to make sure logistically we get our products into the market and that’s where the investment has been. But the figures so far this year show that it’s paid off,” he said.
Asia on hold
Joule admitted its presence in Asia has been “put on hold” while it concentrates on growing its presence in America.
The fashion retailer currently has two distributors serving South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia.
Joule said UK growth remained “good” after opening 19 new stores in the year ending May 25, 2014.
He added that it would be opening fewer stores this year, but will instead focus on “reshaping the portfolio” to meet customer demands.
This includes continuing to roll out click-and-collect services and the ability for customers to return online orders to its stores, Joule said.
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