• Oasis reports first full-year profit for three years
  • The retailer says pre-tax profits hit £5.6m after £300,000 loss last year
  • New stores selling better quality items and offering fewer discounts win back shoppers

Oasis has swung to its first full-year profit in three years after a higher quality clothing offer helped it win back customers and boost sales.

The fashion retailer reported a pre-tax profit of £5.6m for the year ending February 28, following a £300,000 loss the previous year.

It said new and refurbished stores selling better-quality dresses and shirts and fewer products on promotion helped woo shoppers and drive up revenues.

Sales jumped 5.4% to £171.9m during the year, according to The Independent, as online sales increased 32%.

Oasis spent £3.4m on revamping its flagship locations, driving an 18% spike in sales at those stores. It also opened a new flagship store in London’s Tottenham Court Road, which features a prosecco bar, café and beauty salon, as it continues to modernise its portfolio.

But its sister retailer Warehouse suffered a 5.1% drop in sales to £130.3m over the same 12-month period as it reported a pre-tax loss of £3.8m.

As previously reported, Warehouse has hired heavyweight designers Alasdhair Willis and Emma Cook as bosses bid to overhaul the brand.

Willis has joined the business as brand consultant and will help deliver a new vision for the Warehouse brand, its stores and the digital presence, while British womenswear designer Cook has been drafted in as design director.

The overall Oasis and Warehouse group, which is run by Liz Evans, made a profit after tax of £1.1m for the year. 

In its current financial year the group is “trading well”, according to a spokeswoman.

 

Topics