Popular now
Debenhams Group returns to growth amid PLT recovery

Debenhams Group returns to growth amid PLT recovery

Currys appoints Fredrik Tønnesen as Group CEO

Currys appoints Fredrik Tønnesen as Group CEO

Inditex sales rise 5.8% after strong start to summer trading

Inditex sales rise 5.8% after strong start to summer trading

AO World profits rise amid membership scheme success

AO World profits rise amid membership scheme success

On this episode of Talking Shop I’m joined by Alain Bejjani—former Group CEO of Middle East retail giant Majid Al Futtaim, and author of the definitive new book, NEXT: Leading Through the New Realities. Drawing on his childhood in war-torn Beirut, and his experience steering a $9.5bn dollar retail and lifestyle empire through a global pandemic, Alain brings an unmatched perspective on leadership under pressure. Today, we break down his crisis survival playbook for retailers operating in distress. We discuss why resilience must always outpace efficiency, the four assets a brand must protect at all costs, and how to turn macro-turmoil into a long-term direction that scales.

Register to get free articles

No spam Unsubscribe anytime

Want unlimited access? View Plans

Already have an account? Sign in

AO World has revealed that its adjusted profit-before-tax rose 27% to £44m for the year ended 31 March 2025, up from £34m in the previous year.

Alongside this, ​the company’s LFL group revenue grew 7%, to £1.11bn with its core B2C retail revenue rising 12% to £832m.

This growth was driven by the expansion of its Five Star membership offering as well as the broadening of its product range to around 9,000 products.

Furthermore, MusicMagpie contributed an additional £30m revenue to the group for the period, after AO acquired the company in October last year.

AO stated that its revolving credit facility was increased and extended with the total facility increasing from £80m to £120m which remains undrawn and now expires in October 2028.

Looking ahead, the company expects to grow its revenue alongside posting an adjusted PBT of between £40m and £50m in the next year, despite the wider macroeconomic challenges, particularly employment cost increases.

Looking to the medium term, AO has expressed confidence in its ambition of delivering a PBT margin of over 5%.

John Roberts, founder and chief executive, said: “Our 25th year in business has been our best yet. We’ve delivered a record10 profit before tax performance, significantly grown our sales, and continued to delight our ever-growing customer base with trusted, outstanding service.

“One of the key drivers of this performance is our Five Star membership programme, which is giving our customers even more reasons to keep coming back to us. We’re also broadening our product range beyond the Major Domestic Appliance category that we’re best known for.”

He added: “We added over 1,500 new products during the year, which means that categories such as fitness, drones, cameras and health and beauty are all now available at fantastic prices through AO.

“And the really great news is that there’s so much more for us to go after, with a total addressable market of over £28bn. Given the size of that prize, the fantastic momentum that we’re seeing across the business, and our awesome team of AOers, I couldn’t be more excited about the next 25 years. In many ways, we’re only just getting started.”

Previous Post
Poundland confirms plans to shutter 150 stores 

Poundland confirms plans to shutter 150 stores 

Next Post
John Lewis commercial staff return to office three days a week

John Lewis commercial staff return to office three days a week