海角视频 North East fashion firm END Clothing narrowed its losses in a year in which it was acquired by new owners and also shed 200 jobs.
The Washington based streetwear retailer 鈥 originally launched 20 years ago by university friends Christiaan Ashworth and John Parker 鈥 now has a global audience through its website and five stores, including a flagship shops in Newcastle city centre. Last October the business, known for its rare trainers and high-end fashion brands, was snapped up in an undisclosed deal by private equity giant Apollo, three years after former owner The Carlyle Group bought the business.
Accounts covering the year ended March 30 2025 at the company highlight the acquisition as a transaction which 鈥渟trengthened the balance sheet of the group by significantly reducing the debt and interest burden鈥, saying Apollo have been involved with the group since the previous owners, having provided finance for the initial acquisition. Accounts show turnover dropped from 拢212.7m to 拢177.9m but its operating loss narrowed from 拢43.6m to 拢11m. The overall loss for the year was 拢10.2m compared to last year鈥檚 拢42.5m loss.
During the year the firm鈥檚 average headcount dropped by 200, from 832 to 632. The accounts said: 鈥淲hilst there was restructuring in the year, the Directors ensure that redundancies were kept to a minimum and employees were provided with alternative roles where possible.鈥
In a report within the accounts, directors said the company continued its transformation with investment in technology, saying: 鈥淪ignificant projects were successfully implemented to simplify the IT infrastructure. These changes strengthened the back-end operations and platform.
鈥淭he overall transformation will enable the business to scale profitably and further improve the customer experience. The investment in the IT systems and costs of the change in ownership are classified outside of underlying trade.
鈥淭hese investments were made amidst a retail landscape which remained intensely competitive throughout the financial period.
鈥淲hilst the rate of inflation slowed, other pressures on interest rates and taxation resulted in challenging macroeconomic conditions within the key 海角视频 market. Consumers remained focused on discounting and promotional activities throughout the period, with this contributing to lower underlying revenues of 拢170m and a reduction in underlying gross margin to 26.6% (2024: 28.3%).鈥
The firm said the investments allowed END. to deliver significant operational efficiencies and to streamline key processes.
Meanwhile, it also maintained a focus on stock, investing in new brands including SKIMS and Mont-Bell, as well as its first 鈥淓 by END鈥 products, 鈥渢o ensure both the quality and quantity of merchandise stock delivered newness and exclusivity to the END. Community.鈥 As a result, it saw a reduction in inventory levels from 拢64.4m to 拢44.3m.
Following the year end, Sebastian Suhl, a fashion industry veteran who has worked at brands including Prada, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs and Valentino, joined the business as chief executive officer.
The company added: 鈥淭he next financial period is focused on investing across all strands of our omni-channel customer experience. This investment will coincide with activity to support awareness of the END. brand.
鈥淎midst uncertainty in major markets, the company continues to regularly review its strategy, remaining agile to these changes. Executive and senior leadership works closely with key suppliers to monitor and manage these changes to minimise the impact to customers in these markets, whilst also planning for potential future changes.鈥
