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Online retailer Pink Boutique is hoping to bounce back from a pandemic pause in fashion shopping which led to a 69% fall in sales.

The Newcastle firm was originally launched nine years ago by business owner Julie Blackie with her daughter Alice Hall, each investing 拢45 to buy a handful of dresses to get the company off the ground.

Since then it has moved to a huge unit in Newburn which brings all the clothing and offices under one roof, alongside studios to style and market the clothing on its social media platforms.

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The firm鈥檚 most popular items have long been partywear 鈥� but the last three national lockdowns and the closure of hospitality venues led to a drop in demand, as customers instead sought out comfortable clothes to wear at home, or to save money until after lockdown.

In direct response, Pink Boutique pivoted, switching from luxury dresses to loungewear to keep customers shopping.

Now accounts for the year ended February 28 have been published showing a fall in revenue from 拢13.9m to 拢4.3m, while the previous year鈥檚 operating profit of 拢1.26m became a loss of 拢317,706. Average employee numbers also fell from 68 to 36.

The accounts say the company tapped into the Government furlough scheme and streamlined processes, putting it a sound financial footing, well placed to take advantage of future opportunities as the market continues to improve.

In the report accompanying the accounts, Mrs Blackie said it had been a challenging year for Pink Boutique, but forecasted a return to profit this year.

She said: 鈥淟ike all businesses in the fashion industry the company has felt the impact of Covid-19 on sales, which were affected for the whole of 2020/21 year. Customers buy our products primarily to socialise in, whether that is to go to a party, club, restaurant, wedding or to go on holiday, all of which they have not been able to do over the last 12 months.

鈥淐onsequently, with restrictions forcing the closure of hospitality and tourism sectors and people working from home, our turnover fell by 69% from the previous year.

鈥淎s a company we have a strong and dedicated management team who were able to react decisively to our changing circumstances. We were able to reduce our overheads by 拢2.7m and change product lines to adapt to the new 鈥榥ormal鈥�.

鈥淎s a result of all this hard work we were able to report a small EBITDA loss for the year of 拢0.2m. We also enter the year with 拢0.9m of cash in the bank and no debt finance. This is an excellent performance given the Covid challenges we have faced.

鈥淥ur markets have begun to recover and our strong cash position is helping us to invest again in our staff and products.

鈥淭his will help us grow to take advantage of the gradual 鈥榦pening up鈥� of leisure with a new, more reactive product range. The signs of improvement in the retail environment are with us, the business continues to recover its sales, and we are forecasting a return to profitability in 2021/22.鈥�

Following publication of the accounts, Mrs Blackie said the Pink Boutique team was looking forward to a busy festive season.

She added: 鈥淟ooking back at the summary in the accounts it reflects where we were at the end of our financial year in February, still unsure what was going to happen with lockdowns.

鈥淲ith hindsight, we鈥檝e waited a long time for hospitality to open up - the final lifting of restrictions in pubs and clubs only happening two months ago - but now we are there and things are much better.

鈥淲e are very much looking forward to the Christmas season to be able to give our customers what we do best - party dresses.鈥�