Adena Brands, the owner of Monsoon and Accessorize, has reported a pre-tax loss of £7.5m for the 12 months to 31 August, 2024, marking a slump into the red as sales took a hit during its latest financial year.
This loss follows a pre-tax profit of £14m in the previous financial year, as reported by .
The group's turnover also saw a decline from £231m to £204.6m over the same period, according to new accounts filed with Companies House.
Describing the results as "disappointing," the group cited a challenging environment marked by weak consumer demand, steep wage and other cost inflation, and underperformance in several areas.
However, it also highlighted the investments made to turn the performance around, which are reflected in the results.
Despite the downturn, the group issued a dividend of £2m for the financial year to owner Peter Simon, an increase from the £1m paid out for the prior 12 months.
In a statement, Simon acknowledged the challenging trading backdrop and ongoing inflationary pressures, but expressed optimism about the future due to the necessary steps taken to realign and strengthen the business.
He said: "Due to the actions taken and investments made, we are encouraged by current trading performance and optimistic about the opportunities ahead of us."
Simon reaffirmed the group's commitment to its strategy, stating: "We remain committed to our strategy and are continuing to invest in our product, distribution channels, and technology so that we are in an even better position to capitalise on the new fiscal year's momentum."
Monsoon and Accessorize, the popular high street fashion retailers, are eyeing a recovery despite ongoing economic challenges. The group stated: "Despite continued weak consumer spending and a new round of wage cost increases, the group is seeing positive results from the investments made last year and the continued strong performance of our core º£½ÇÊÓƵ Accessorise and Monsoon women's businesses."
They added that eight months into their current fiscal year, they have seen a return to sales growth, profitability, and improved performance in areas that were previously concerning.
The group plans to manage the increases to the National Minimum Wage, new employment regulations, and the rise in employer National Insurance contributions by "improving our store productivity and a renewed focus on managing our overall headcount and wage increases." They also plan to leverage automation and technology to "drive efficiency in our operations, stores and digital business."
In a statement, Chief Executive Nick Stowe said: "Last year was a tough year for us and for retail in general."
He added, "But it's a long game, and we pushed ahead with our plans and investment, and faced into the need to improve our performance in several areas."
"Our new Monsoon and Accessorize stores are performing much better, we've made our digital business much more profitable, and our international transitions have shifted good businesses from failing franchisees to a much stronger partner in Saudi and our own operation in Italy."
"We've started to utilise the core technology investments we've made to become more efficient and to launch new functionality to connect our stores and digital business, something we expect to pay off in the years ahead."
"Turnarounds are rarely linear or straightforward, but we've navigated a difficult year back into growth and solid profitability, and we're confident in the momentum we're building for the years ahead."
