Aquascutum revenue and profits fall, but online and wholesale are key

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Nov 20, 2017

Luxury clothing brand Aquascutum suffered a dip in revenue and profits in the year to 31 March, but also narrowed its loss before tax and reported strong online growth.

The company said turnover fell by 5% to £12.5m due to its planned store closure programme, including the complete withdrawal of concessions from House of Fraser. This decision impacted the brand’s retail business, which reported a 9.7% fall to £7.4m. Like-for-like sales dropped by 10% during the period.

The retail decline contrasted with a strong increase in online sales, rising 29% year-on-year, as well as continued growth and success in the wholesale channel, which jumped 1.6% to £5m. Going forward, Aquascutum said it will capitalise on the strength of its wholesale business by increasing distribution through current territories and through new EU territories.

Like other British companies which rely on imports, Aquascutum said profits were hurt by the fall in the pound following the vote to leave the European Union as it reported a 9.2% decline in gross profit to £3.7m.

“While this had an impact on the current financial year, we have taken action on both pricing and purchase cost to ensure we manage the situation appropriately,” it said in accounts recently submitted with Companies House.

The loss before tax in the period decreased to £4.82m from £6.76m a year earlier, helped by a 17% reduction in operating expenses, mostly related to the store closure programme.

Aquascutum was acquired by Jining Ruyi Investment Co for £95m in March.