Seasalt has reported an ‘excellent’ year helped by its thriving store estate

Seasalt posted pre-tax profit of £6.8m for the full year to January 27, 2024, up from £470,681 in the previous year when a “significant” increase in inbound freight and container rates impacted margins at the business.

Operating profit at the fashion retailer was up 146% to reach £7.9m from £4.7m last year.

Revenue was up 12% year on year to hit £132.6m regardless of the “economic uncertainty” and “external challenges” during the year.

Seasalt said its product margins recovered as a result of improvements in sourcing and a fall in inbound costs which returned to “more normal levels” and its gross profit margin for the year was up from 51.1% to 56.2%.

The fashion retailer said sales were boosted by a record year for its store estate and customers were spending “significantly more” per visit to stores.

During the year, Seasalt opened in new locations including Meadowhall, Aberdeen, Trentham, Malvern, Kenmare and a pop-up in Plymouth, bringing its store estate total to 73.

The retailer also hailed the success of its third-party partners including Marks & Spencer, Next and Zalando, with partnerships now accounting for 13% of sales, up from 4% in 2023.

Seasalt said it has invested heavily during the year including the use of a new process to implement a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution to help manage everyday activities.

It also carried out a “major transformation” of its data platform and hopes the improvements will boost productivity and efficiencies within the business.

Chief executive Paul Hayes said: “Sales have been very strong throughout the trading period in review, and we’re delighted to build on the ongoing success of recent years, in the face of obvious external challenges and economic uncertainty.

“In fact, over the last five years, the group has more than doubled its turnover to £132.6m. Last year was a tough year for retail businesses, but we weathered the impact to evidence record-breaking revenue growth for the business in these statutory accounts.

“We’ve now got our focus firmly set on the future as the year ahead is a significant one for us, with the launch of our first Seasalt stores in North America and continued expansion in our partner channels, at home and internationally. We have every confidence that we will realise our ambitious growth plans if not exceed expectations.”