Superdry returned to growth in Q4 even though it reported a 21% drop in full-year revenue as Covid-19 continued to impact the business.
The British fashion retailer said its revenue in the 12 months to April 24 2021 was 556.6 million pounds compared to 704.4 million pounds a year earlier.
In the fourth quarter, the business showed signs of recovery with an uptick of 0.8 percent in revenue, driven by a 26.6 percent increase in e-commerce and wholesale up 13.5 percent. Store sales were still down 51.5 percent.
“Our strengthened e-commerce presence has helped mitigate the impact from enforced closures of our stores,” said founder and CEO Julian Dunkerton in a statement. “We returned to revenue growth in Q4, and our commitment to a full price stance over the period has seen significant online margin improvement.”
The company also said it managed to reduce its total stock units by 14 percent in total year-on-year despite the pandemic, delivered through “targeted clearance activity and a reduced buy”.
The company said there had been “encouraging trade” since the re-opening of its owned stores in the UK last month with the initial run rate ahead of like-for-like trading through FY21. However, EU trading remained suppressed due to continued restrictions.
Looking ahead, the company said it is “confident of growth in FY22 revenue and profitability compared to FY21 assuming no further material national store lockdowns and a continuing recovery in footfall and consumer demand through the period”.