Superdrug credits strong own-brand performance and footfall recovery as profits and sales surge

The health and beauty retailer said pre-tax profits increased for the 2022 financial year by 71.7% to £77.8m, while sales jumped 17% to over £1.3bn.

The company said online trading volumes “continued to track significantly ahead of pre-pandemic levels” during the period.

Superdrug said it “re-platformed” to its ‘O+O’ (offline plus online) strategy designed to “provide seamless accessibility and experience, regardless of how customers choose to start or conclude their shopping”.

The retailer invested in 12 new stores during the year, bringing its total estate to 789 shops across the UK and Ireland – with plans to invest in a further 25 during 2023.

Superdrug chief executive Peter Macnab commented: “Our annual report shows the real resilience and strength of the Superdrug business, despite ongoing inflation and upwards pressure on business costs. I would like to thank our 13,430 colleagues for their ongoing energy and passion, which has ensured Superdrug can continue to bring the best in accessible health and beauty to as many customers as possible.

“Throughout 2022, high food, energy and domestic costs continued to put severe pressure on household incomes. At Superdrug we remained committed to supporting customers through the cost-of-living crisis, working with Jack Monroe and becoming the first health and beauty retailer to introduce price freezes on essential products, ensuring we brought best-in-class health and beauty at competitive prices, the success of which we see reflected in the growth of our own-brand offering and the great takeup of members-only pricing.”

He added: “Christmas 2022 was a particularly positive trading period for Superdrug and we have certainly carried this momentum into 2023, with customer footfall continuing to increase and all of our categories performing well, particularly Cosmetics which had a turbulent few years throughout the pandemic.”