Superdry reported a fall in sales and said it expects full-year profitability to be impacted as it blamed “a challenging consumer retail market” set against ”macroeconomic uncertainty and some remarkably unseasonal weather conditions” for its weakened financial performance.
The struggling fashion retailer also announced that chief financial officer Shaun Wills will step down on March 31.
In 26 weeks to October 31, 2023, Superdry posted a decline of 23.5% in sales to £219.8m, compared to the £287.2m of sales reported during the same period last year.
Adjusted loss before tax deepened to £25.3m compared to £13.6m in the same period last year, while statutory profit before tax was £3.3m.
The group said it was particularly affected by the underperformance of its wholesale segment along with the challenging consumer retail market and unseasonal weather.
Giles David will join the business as interim chief financial officer and will be appointed to the board in April. Superdry said it will benefit from David’s “strong track record in consumer-facing businesses where he has operated successfully in turnaround environments, with previous roles at companies including McColl’s, Casual Dining Group and Wiggle”.
Julian Dunkerton, Superdry’s founder and chief executive, said: “This has clearly been a difficult period for Superdry. A challenging consumer retail market, set against a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty and some remarkably unseasonal weather conditions have all combined to weaken the financial performance of the group.
“These macro and external factors have been further exacerbated by the underperformance of our wholesale segment. Whilst, to some extent, this was expected due to the decision to exit our US operations and the sale of the brand rights in non-core territories, the segment continues to prove challenging.
“Despite the near-term difficulties, we have made significant operational strides over the half year as part of our ongoing turnaround. Our cost savings programme remains on track and our inventory reduction programme is progressing well. We have also taken further action to support the balance sheet with a secondary lending facility agreed with Hilco Capital in August, and the agreement for a joint venture and disposal in South Asia, demonstrating the continuing attractiveness of the brand in foreign markets.
“Our efforts continue to focus on right-sizing the cost base and creating an operating model suitable for the needs of the organisation over the longer term. Christmas trading proved challenging and we do not expect market conditions to get any easier in the near term. However, I firmly believe we are taking the right steps for the business and the brand, to return Superdry to profitability.”
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