Missguided posts £46.7m loss

Online fashion retailer Missguided has posted a £46.7m loss in its financial results for the 53 weeks ending 1 April 2018 in what it described as an “extremely challenging” year.

This is compared with a loss of £1.6m in the 2017. The company said its profitability was “severely impacted” by a significant investment to exit poorly selected product and a 60% increase in its year-on-year central support costs. It also said its core e-commerce revenue remained broadly flat compared with last year.

The brand – which launched its first bricks-and-mortar store at Stratford Westfield in 2016 – said its strong levels of revenue were “insufficient” to cover its operating costs due to the outlets being “significantly too large”.

During the 53-week period, Missguided’s revenue rose from £205.8m to £215.9m.

Its statement said: “The year has been an extremely challenging one from which the brand emerges stronger and with a management team that has developed a sharper clarity on the key drivers of value within the business.

“During the year, in order to support and enable new growth, a fresh tier management was introduced to the business. We now believe that this development was premature, materially increasing the cost base and diluting the influence of our founder [Nitin Passi], particularly in the critical areas of product selection and inventory management.”