Sosandar HY losses narrow to £0.7m

Women’s fashion brand Sosandar has revealed that its losses narrowed to £0.7m, from a loss of £1.3m, for the six-month period ended 30 September 2024 as a result of margin enhancement and continued careful cost management.

Overall, the group’s revenues fell from £22.2m in the prior year to £16.2m as it continued to transition away from price promotional activity outside the major scheduled sale events.

However, it reported a strong gross margin of 62.2%, versus 55.4% in the previous year, reflecting margin enhancement prioritisation.

Sosandar also successfully opened its first three own stores, with “strong” trading in all three, coupled with a demonstrable uplift in traffic to the website in the areas where the stores are located

Additionally, the group has reported that trading in October across all channels “started strongly”, with revenue being ahead of last year which represents a substantial positive swing compared with H1. It stated that its strategy to focus on margin is “paying off as customers become used to paying full price on its site”.

The brand also continues to benefit from its strong third-party partnerships, including Next and Marks and Spencer in the UK.

Moreover, the company launched in store with Arnotts in Dublin, Ireland, in September, after initially selling online through Arnotts’ website.

Looking ahead, FY25 revenue expectations have moderated to £40m and profit expectations remain unchanged given continuing margin strength, evolution of customer engagement strategy and careful management of other overheads.

Ali Hall and Julie Lavington, co-CEOs, 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. We are incredibly proud of seeing the Sosandar brand on thriving high streets and are delighted with the reception we have received so far.

“The feedback on our product range and store environment from both new and existing customers has been fantastic, which shows the power of the Sosandar brand. 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.”