Sosandar swings to loss but forecasts positive trading ahead

Sosandar’s first half revenue increased by 6 percent to 22.2 million pounds with a loss before tax of 1.3 million pounds against profit of 0.1 million pounds in the same period last year.

During the months of October and November, the company added trading has been in line with full year market expectations of revenue of 46.8 million pounds and PBT of 0.1 million pounds.

Commenting on the trading update, Ali Hall and Julie Lavington, co-CEOs of Sosandar said in a statement: "We are delighted to have launched new partnerships with Sainsbury's and Freemans, signed our first agreements with two large prestigious international third-party partners and announced that we intend to open our first own stores in Spring 2024.”

Sosandar witnesses strong holiday quarter trading

Gross margin for the first half period of 55.4 percent increased by 100 bps compared to the same period in the prior year.

The company saw all channels performing well with strong revenue growth, increased gross margin, positive pre-tax profit in both months and a record month of trading in November, with similar momentum in December to date.

“In the lead up to Christmas we have seen extremely strong sales across all categories with party wear, dresses, tailoring, knitwear and smart trousers being standout items.”

Revenue for October and November reached over 10 million pounds, a 16 percent increase on the same period last year and a significant improvement on the 6 percent growth achieved in H1 FY24. Gross margin for the period improved 430 bps to 59.8 percent.

Sosandar’s multi-channel retailing helps boost sales

The company said, revenue through its third-party partners continues to grow strongly, in particular with Next and Marks & Spencer. In addition, the wholesale agreement with Sainsbury's commenced in the period with Sosandar products being sold in nine physical stores from early October.

Sosandar also signed new agreements with The Iconic in Australia which has recently launched and The Bay in Canada, which is expected to launch during the latter part H2 FY24.

"Looking ahead, we believe that the future is very bright as we take the Sosandar brand to more customers across the UK and worldwide and move further towards reaching our strategic goal of delivering 100 million pounds revenues and a pre-tax profit margin of at least 10 percent in the medium term," added Hall and Lavington.