Joules revenues slide 18 percent but online sales jump 63 percent

British lifestyle brand Joules, in a trading update covering the 13 weeks to August 30, 2020 said that despite the highly challenging trading backdrop, group revenue performance during the period was ahead of the board’s expectations at 39.6 million pounds, with revenue from the group’s own e-commerce channels increasing 63 percent. Overall Group revenue was down 18 percent reflecting the impact of Joules’ stores, and those of many of the company’s wholesale partners, not being open for a large part of the period.

Commenting on the trading update, Nick Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Joules said in a statement: “We are encouraged by the group’s performance in the first quarter of the financial year with sales ahead of our expectations. As with all consumer-facing businesses we face challenging trading conditions and unprecedented levels of uncertainty over the coming months and into the peak Christmas trading season. Against this backdrop we remain cautious on the future trading outlook and will continue to tightly manage costs and conserve cash. “

Joules retail channel sales improve but wholesale continues to suffer

The company added that retail revenue declined by 5 percent although retail sales through the group’s owned retail channels increased by 1.5 percent, supported by a strong product and promotional offer. The group continued to deliver a strong performance online with e-commerce revenue including third parties increasing by 45 percent against the prior year.

Joules commenced the phased reopening of its store estate on 15 June with all stores reopened by early August. Since their reopening, the company said that the stores have performed well with sales down just 10 than the comparable prior year period. For the Period overall, including the impact of enforced store closures, retail store sales declined by 49 percent. Wholesale sales reduced by 59 percent.

Picture:Facebook/Joules