The company behind Cotswold Outdoor has now lost more than £100m since it last made a pre-tax profit almost ten years ago, it has been revealed.
The Wiltshire-headquartered retailer, whose brands also include Runners Need as well as Snow and Rock, has reported a pre-tax loss of £7.3m for 2023, after also making a loss of £3.9m in 2022.
The last time the business behind Cotswold Outdoor made a pre-tax profit was the £14.8m it achieved in 2015. At the time, its turnover stood at £135.5m.
Since then it has racked up a pre-tax loss of more than £110m.
Newly-filed accounts with Companies House also show that its turnover dipped from £160.5m to £159.7m in 2023.
Cotswold Outdoor bosses ‘satisfied’ with performance
A statement signed off by the board said: “The retail landscape in the UK throughout 2023 has continued to be impacted by the wider macro-economic and geopolitical environments which have continued to evolve and have been significantly impacted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“This has continued to cause significant uncertainty in the global economy which led to a period of increasing inflation throughout 2022 and into the start of 2023.
“To control this inflation, the Bank of England introduced significant interest rate rises.
“Inflation eased through 2023, however the easing was not sufficient enough to have a significant impact on consumer confidence.
“As a result of this easing, while there is an anticipated reduction in interest rates in 2024, the extent of the reduction is uncertain at the time of this report.”
The company behind Cotswold Outdoor added: “The directors are satisfied that the business is well placed to navigate any forthcoming challenges which may lay ahead and has demonstrated a strong ability to be both agile and resilient.”
On its future, the business said: “2024 has started the year with a number of challenges in terms of macro-economic uncertainty, driven in particular by geo-political issues and global tensions.
“The company feels that it is well placed to tackle these challenging conditions and as we continue to see inflation ease through the the first half of 2024, a rebound of consumer confidence is expected, as well as the continued desire of our customers to be enjoying the outdoors in a sustainable manner.”