Vivienne Westwood hails significant turnover and profit growth in full-year results

While the year 2022 may have ended on a less positive note for Vivienne Westwood in light of the death of its eponymous founder, the British label still welcomed strong financial results over the 12 month period, ending December 2022.

In a filing with the UK’s Comp anies House, Vivienne Westwood Limited reported a 53 percent growth in revenue year-on-year, hitting 101.3 million pounds, with gross profits also increasing 53 percent to 61.9 million pounds.

The company’s operating profit, meanwhile, rose to 38.4 million pounds, up from its prior 19.8 million pounds, and its net profit increased from 15.2 million to 30.89 million pounds.

Such growth had largely been driven by physical store sales, which had risen 65 percent over the period, while e-commerce sales were also increasingly positive, up 39 percent.

It was the latter that saw a notable transformation throughout 2022, with the company opting to internalise its e-commerce business to further improve in the sector.

The process was ultimately complete in September 2023 yet is set to continue seeing investments in order to further improve customer experience.

Wholesale also saw a substantial jump, increasing 80 percent compared to 2021.

Any sign of pressure from the firm was only inherent in the 61 percent gross profit margin, which had remained at such due the “nature of wider retail conditions”. To alleviate concerns, Vivienne Westwood said it was reviewing prices to improve the margin, a policy it noted would continue “on an ongoing basis”.

In its overarching review, the company commented: “The brand continues to remain attractive to its wide customer base and sales continue to be consistent. The focus remains on improving the existing stores and clarifying the positioning of the Vivienne Westwood brand by focusing the offer through a streamlining of the portfolio of lines.

“The Vivienne Westwood Group still has major ambitions to establish a better presence in relatively new markets such as China and the US, as well as increasing market share in Europe (in particular France, Italy and Germany) and Asia.”