Womenswear brand Sosandar has revealed that its sales were down by 27% for the six months ending 30 September 2024.
During the period, Sosandar reported sales were down to £16.2 million from £22.2 million the year prior. The group put this down to transitioning away from price promotional activity outside the major scheduled sale events.
However, pre-tax losses narrowed by 50% to £0.7 million. It also reported a strong gross margin of 62.2%, versus 55.4% the year prior.
During the period, Sosandar opened its first three brick-and-mortar stores, which are already seeing strong sales. In addition, revenue continued to grow with third-party partners, NEXT and Marks & Spencer. In September, Sosandar also launched in-store with Arnotts in Dublin.
Ali Hall and Julie Lavington, Co-CEOs at Sosandar, said: “The opening of our first three own stores marks a key point in the Company’s development, as we move towards becoming a true multi-channel retailer. We are incredibly proud of seeing the Sosandar brand on thriving high streets and are delighted with the reception we have received so far.
“The feedback on our product range and store environment from both new and existing customers has been fantastic, which shows the power of the Sosandar brand. We have hit the ground running with strong footfall and conversion, and have also seen a demonstrable uplift in traffic to our website in the areas where our stores are located.
“We remain committed to delivering in line with our growth strategy, focusing on margin enhancement to improve profitability, and we are already seeing the results of this in our performance. This has continued into October and we remain excited for what lies ahead for Sosandar.”
Despite dipping sales in H1, the womenswear retailer reported a strong start to H2 with sales in line with market expectations. The company expects revenues to reach £40.5 million and a pre-tax profit of £1 million.
Looking ahead, it plans to “focus on margin enhancement” as it begins to “drive sustainable profitable growth”. Its medium-term strategic goal is to deliver a pre-tax profit of at least £10 million.
