Reiss posts 22% uplift in sales as it accelerates US growth

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Mar 9, 2020

Mid-market fashion brand Reiss had an “excellent” 2019, and while many fashion brands are struggling, it seems the British business is thriving. 

According to unaudited results published this Monday, continued investment in design and quality helped deliver a significant increase in full-year sales at the clothing retailer, up 21.9% to £227.4 million.

This was supported by a programme of store debuts, with 67 new locations opening across the UK, Europe, the USA and APAC over the year. On a like-for-like basis, sales were also strong, up 21.6% year-on-year. 

CEO Christos Angelides said customers bought more clothes at full-price on a like-for-like basis than ever before, which had a positive impact on profits. In fact, EBITDA profits for the year ended 1 February 2020 climbed significantly higher than sales, up 51.6% to £29.3m.

"2019 was an excellent year for Reiss on all metrics and represents the culmination of driving Reiss through 2 years of transformation,” commented the chief executive officer.

The USA was a standout performer, he added. Some 29 new stores and concessions opened in the US market last year, and 14 new locations are set to open on the West Coast this 2020 in partnership with Nordstrom and Bloomingdales following “extremely positive” sales and customer feedback.

This will be part of the 58 new doors that are set to open globally throughout this year. 

“Going forward into 2020 we have budgeted on a more conservative basis, but we believe there is significant headroom for the Reiss brand to grow on a scalable and sustainable basis,” Christos Angelides continued.

The brand has recently unveiled a new campaign that reflects on its origin in 1971. Showing a pared down aesthetic and tailored silhouettes, the campaign features the SS20 collection, which launched in January, with new product added into stores and online until June.