Seasalt has reported “record” Christmas trading performance across all channels, crediting store performance in particular as the brand continues to resonate with shoppers.
The Cornish fashion retailer posted a 16% increase in sales year on year for the five weeks to December 30, 2023, with all channels setting new Christmas records.
Seasalt said revenue across its store estate increased by 17% compared with the same period in 2022, posting a new Christmas store performance record, which the fashion retailer credited to customers “continuing to appreciate the opportunity to experience the Seasalt brand in person”.
Online sales were also up 11% year on year, which Seasalt said was “pleasing to see” amid “challenging online trading conditions” over the past 18 months.
The retailer also hailed the importance of its third-party marketplace partners, including M&S, Next and Zalando, which went from “strength to strength” last year as sales over Christmas increased by 32% across its partnership portfolio.
For the full year to the end of January 2023, Seasalt posted underlying EBITDA of more than £8.5m, up from £7.9m the previous year.
Revenue for the full year was also up by 23% to reach £118m, while like-for-like store sales were up 12% on a pre-Covid comparison from 2019.
In terms of outlook, Seasalt expects revenue for the full year to January 27, 2024, to be up 12.5% and exceed a total of £135m, while EBITDA is anticipated to reach more than £10m.
Seasalt chief executive Paul Hayes said: “Sales have been strong throughout the key festive trading weeks in 2023 and we’re proud to have been able to build on the success we’ve seen in recent years, despite ongoing external economic challenges.
“2024 is set to be a milestone year as we open our first stores in North America and we’re already seeing positive early signs of progress from our international growth over the past year, which is giving us confidence for the year ahead.”
Chief trading officer Jon Lewis added: “It is really pleasing to see all three of our principal sales channels perform so well over the festive season.
“We have a good balance across our channels, which helps to provide resilience in difficult trading conditions but also leads to outstanding performance when all three are doing well.
“The results reflect our customers’ reaction to the new full-price product and a great response to our end-of-season Sale.”
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