Reiss UK EBITDA dips 14.5% as it invests in infrastructure

The premium fashion retailer said it decided not to pass increased commodity prices on to customers and that margins had been impacted by its infrastructure investment.

The retailer said it had benefitted from “the patronage of the Duchess of Cambridge” over the year.

It said: “This received significant international press coverage, which raised the profile of the brand considerably.”

Reiss will use this to further propel international growth and aims to add further concessions and franchises over the year.

It said: “Online sales, in the UK and overseas, and international retail sales are key to the long-term growth of the Reiss brand and we have continued to invest in core infrastructure to support and drive growth in these channels.”

Reiss opened its first shop-in-shop in Bloomingdales’ New York flagship store during the year, which it said proved “extremely successful”. As a result it is to open a further 13 Bloomingdales concessions in its current year.

It also opened its first company-owned Asia store in Hong Kong over the year, with further shop openings planned in the region, and two Russian stores. Outside of the UK, Reiss full year EBITDA losses extended from £1.5m to £2.1m as it continued to invest in its expansion.

In the UK, the retailer admitted its store opening programme saw less activity although it said its new Westfield Stratford City store was trading ahead of expectations.

Reiss’ online sales also “grew significantly” in the year and were above its expectations.