Sosandar, the women’s fashion retailer, has slashed its sales predictions for the year by £5m today but said a pivot away from clothing discounts would help keep its profits on track.
The AIM-listed brand reported pre-tax loss of £0.6m in the six months to 30 September, up from a pre-tax loss of £1.3m in the six months to September 2023.
Revenue came in at £16.2m, down from £22.2m last year, with the drop due to a “transition away from price promotional activity outside the major scheduled sale events,” Sosandar said.
The company doubled down on its pre-tax profit expectations but reined in its revenue predictions for the full year to £40m, down from market expectations of £45.6m.
The company’s medium-term goal is to deliver pre-tax profit of at least £10m, it added.
The Wilmslow-headquartered company, which has been selling womenswear online since it was founded in 2016, opened three physical retail stores in the six-month period, with “strong trading in all three, coupled with a demonstrable uplift in traffic to the website in the areas where the stores are located,” it 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,” said co-CEOs Ali Hall and Julie Lavington.
“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.”
The company added that trading in October so far has been strong, with revenue ahead of last year and a “continuation of a strong gross margin” ahead of the all-important golden quarter.