Sosandar has unveiled its first UK store locations after posting ‘robust’ results

Sosandar unveiled the locations as it posted its full-year results and a good start to the new financial year.

Sosandar said its first two stores would open in Marlow, Bucks, and Chelmsford, Essex in September. Other prospective premises are at “a late stage of negotiation with a broader set of store locations identified for roll-out over the medium term”.

Sosandar reported net revenue growth of 9% to £46.3m in the year to March 31, when it made a loss of £0.3m. In the first quarter of the current year there was a “substantial positive swing” from a pre-tax loss of £0.8m in the comparable period last year to a £0.2m loss.

Sosandar co-chief executives Ali Hall and Julie Lavington said: “We have delivered a robust financial performance, delivering a profitable second half, accelerating revenue growth while at the same time growing our margin and generating cash.

“This performance has been achieved against one of the most challenging backdrops our industry has experienced and is a testament to how our customers feel about our on-trend, affordable, long lasting, lifestyle appropriate clothes.“   

Marketing ecosystem

Hall and Lavington continued: “The transition to becoming a true multichannel retailer, with our products being sold on our own site, our mobile app, through our own stores and via highly reputable third-party partners, is well under way. To meet our strategic goal of delivering a pre-tax profit margin of at least 10% in the medium term and £100m+ revenues, we have refined our focus and built a roadmap that will shape our decision making over the coming years.

“The core ingredients to this include prioritising margin and sustainable profitable growth rather than revenue growth through promotional activity. In doing so, we will leverage our brand equity, creating our own marketing ecosystem through our stores which will enable us to own our customers directly.

“We are excited to announce the first locations for our Sosandar stores. These stores fit our criteria of being positioned in top tier locations, located in the right position in affluent, thriving locations where Sosandar customers over-index. We look forward to the official opening of them over the next few months, and with others to come.

“Looking ahead, FY25 is focused primarily on delivering sustainable growth in our gross margin, pre-tax profit, cash generation and maintaining a strong balance sheet. Nonetheless, we do expect revenue growth from on our own site, further third-party partnerships, opening shops and the compounding positive effect that the shops will have across all our channels. We believe that the future is very bright as we take the Sosandar brand to more customers across the UK and worldwide, as we move forward towards reaching our strategic goal in the medium term.”