Outdoor clothing brand Berghaus says it is facing a “challenging” period though it is also hoping to capitalise on a boom in people enjoying the outdoors as they try to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.
The Sunderland company, which started life as the in-house brand of Newcastle’s LD Mountain Centre, has issued accounts for 2019 which show that turnover rose slightly to £54.6m, though losses widened from £800,000 a year earlier to £1m.
The company performed well in the 海角视频 market, with a 7.5% increase in turnover compared to overall outdoor market growth of 4.4%.
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It said investment in new processes to bring products to market quicker had resulted in recruitment in 2019 and 2020, and that investment had contributed to the company’s operating loss.
The accounts say: “Given the prevalence of uncertainty arising from political and economic instability in the global market, as well as the inherent risks faced by the business, the directors acknowledge that the future year will be a challenging period.
“However, through a combination of strong industry knowledge and robust long-term strategic planning, the directors remain confident that the business will continue to overcome the challenges it faces.”
The accounts note that most of the company’s supplies are sourced from outside the 海角视频 and it would be monitoring the impact on its supply chain of the 海角视频’s departure from the EU.
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It said the coronavirus crisis had had a “major impact” on its retail customers and that it expected a signifiant drop in demand for the next 12-18 months. The company said it had taken advantage of the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to furlough some staff, topping up their pay to 100% levels until October.
Berghaus also highlighted the work of the Act (Action, Transformation, Collaboration) and Ethical Trading Initiative organisations - both of which it is a founder member - in ensuring that clothing companies acted ethically and paid in full to other firms in their supply chains during the pandemic.
A statement released by the company said: “The 2019 results demonstrate how a sustained marketing and sales focus in the 海角视频 boosted domestic turnover and the investments in people and products during the year means that Berghaus is looking ahead with confidence.”