Cornish fashion brand Seasalt enjoyed record sales in its stores at Christmas partly because they are mainly based in small towns and resorts where customers felt safer to shop during the Covid pandemic.
In a trading update for the five-week period to January 1, 2022, the Falmouth-headquartered company said total sales across online, stores and through marketplace partners increased by 20% compared with the same period in 2020 and by 33% compared with 2019, the last pre-pandemic comparable period.
Seasalt stores enjoyed a record Christmas trading period with customers valuing the opportunity to experience the brand in person and interact with Seasalt’s store teams, the retailer said.
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Seasalt’s stores are based predominantly in market towns and seaside resorts, which did not see the drop off in footfall experienced in some city centre locations in the second half of December. The company, which won the large business of the year award at the Western Morning News Business Awards in 2021, has about 70 stores spread across the British Isles.
Overall store revenues were up 81% on the same period last year and up 23% on the same period in 2019. Given the disruption caused by partial lockdowns in 2020, it is the comparative against the pre-Covid 2019 period that demonstrates the resilience of the business, bosses said.
Online sales remained strong throughout the Christmas trading period, with digital sales representing the majority of revenues, a trend that is expected to continue into 2022. Following the Christmas trading period, Seasalt expects total sales in the year ending January 29, 2022, to approach £100m, with an EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margin of up to 12%.
In the years ahead, Seasalt plans to grow its customer base in the 海角视频 through innovative marketing and continued excellence in product development. The brand will also increase its international footprint and develop its menswear range.
Following a strong year of trading and with a clear path to future growth, Seasalt is looking to accelerate its expansion through new partnerships and access to external capital.
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PwC has been appointed to advise the board on its strategic options. This next step in the brand’s evolution will support ambitious expansion plans, particularly in select high-growth international markets.
Malcolm Macdonald, Seasalt chief financial officer, said: “The strong store performance over Christmas is a continuation of the theme we have seen since they reopened in April.
“We are very happy with the balance the business now enjoys from its complimentary mix of a strong store portfolio and marketplace partners supporting the direct-to-consumer online retail channel, which represents 56% of total sales.
“We now look forward to our exciting plans to grow the business further over the next few years by acquiring more 海角视频 customers, expanding internationally and developing our menswear range.”
During 2021, the fast-growing Cornish lifestyle brand said online sales had grown significantly above expectations and store sales had rebounded strongly after reopening was allowed.
This was after online sales increased by 72% in the year ended January 30, 2021, compared with the year ended February 1, 2020, reflecting the strength of Seasalt’s digital transformation programme and its innovative marketing strategy. Sales through digital channels accounted for 67% of total revenue over the period and continue to represent the majority of revenue.
Temporary shop closures enforced by Covid-19 throughout 2020 and in early 2021 caused Seasalt’s store sales to decline by 57%. But since reopening, the stores recovered more quickly than expected and continue to trade ahead of expectations.
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Total sales in the year ended January 30, 2021, were £69.9m, down 7% on the previous year. EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), a measure of profitability, in the same period was £6.6m, an increase of 50% year-on-year as the business focused on profit improvement and a full-price trading strategy.
In the current financial year Seasalt has expanded its work with strategic partners including Next, Zalando and Amazon US. The brand launched online with M&S in April 2021 and in M&S stores from June 2021. Seasalt has invested more than £2.5m in new technology in the past 18 months, including new 海角视频 and international websites and industry-leading software that allows online orders to be fulfilled in stores.