Sosandar Revs Up Revenue Growth Amidst Strategic Store Consolidation and M&S Cyber Incident Recovery

Womenswear retailer Sosandar has reported a robust first half of its financial year, demonstrating a significant return to revenue growth and maintaining resilient gross margins. The update for the six months ending September indicated trading performance that aligns with the company's full-year expectations. During this period, net revenue saw a healthy 15% increase, reaching £18.7 million, with the brand's own-site revenue notably climbing by 28%.

The company's own e-commerce platform was a key driver of this growth, experiencing sequential revenue increases in both Q1 and Q2. This uplift was attributed to a meaningful surge in site traffic, improved conversion rates, and increased order volumes from both new and existing customers. Sosandar also successfully maintained a strong gross margin of 62.2%, consistent with the previous year. However, the period concluded with a wider pre-tax loss of £1.1 million, compared to £0.7 million a year earlier. This loss was anticipated and aligns with the traditional second-half weighting of profitability, where higher-margin autumn/winter collections and the crucial Christmas trading period typically boost financial performance.

The half-year loss also reflected specific challenges, including the ongoing impact of the brand's own stores as they mature and, notably, a cyber incident affecting M&S. As a significant retail partner for Sosandar, the cancellation of online sales by M&S for several months consequently affected numerous third-party brands, including Sosandar. Encouragingly, sales through M&S have now fully resumed. Beyond M&S, Sosandar's other retailer partnerships, such as with Next, remain strong, with the brand consistently ranking as one of the top sellers across all third-party channels, delivering robust trading and positive momentum heading into the key autumn/winter season.

Regarding its own physical stores, the company acknowledged that these continue to weigh on profitability as they mature, a factor outlined in its July trading update. Sosandar remains committed to improving store performance and progressing towards breakeven, with no further store openings planned at this time, indicating a focus on consolidation and optimization rather than expansion in this area.

Joint-CEOs Ali Hall and Julie Lavington expressed immense excitement for Sosandar's future, highlighting the multiple opportunities available to expand the brand's presence across the UK and international markets. Their overarching goal is to establish Sosandar as one of the leading global womenswear brands. The board has reiterated its confidence in delivering market expectations for the current financial year, asserting that the necessary foundations are now in place for sustainable, profitable, and cash-generative growth over the medium to long term.