LK Bennett sales boosted by online and US trade

Turnover at the retailer, which last week unveiled actress Rosamund Pike as its new advertising ambassador, rose to £94.1m in the year to July 28.

The company, which was acquired by Phoenix Equity Partners and Sirius Equity in 2008, reported gross profit rose 15% to £62.7m while EBITDA rose 37% to £11m.  

The retailer opened four standalone stores in the US during the period including a new flagship store in the Time Warner Center, New York. It had 160 stores worldwide at year end.

LK Bennett’s website now generates three times the annual sales of its London flagship store and the retailer today said it will launch a US website this spring.

Around 50% of LK Bennett’s annual turnover came from shoes, with the remainder from clothing, bags and accessories. The group said it is focused on increasing sales of shoes, bags and accessories.

Chairman Robert Bensoussan said: “These results show that despite difficult markets, LK Bennett has a strong positioning as the pre-eminent British accessible luxury brand. We are particularly pleased with our US growth and we are targeting further investment in that market through an increasing store presence and through the launch of a US website in spring 2013.”

LK Bennett chief executive Didier Drouet said: “We have demonstrated our commitment to creating LK Bennett as a truly global brand. At a creative level, there is a great deal of momentum, as shown by our recent limited edition collaboration with fashion icon, Caroline Issa and most recently, the announcement of our new face spring/summer 2013 campaign, British actress, Rosamund Pike. We are excited about the future.”