Reiss upbeat as sales and profits boom

Premium British fashion brand Reiss said it saw record sales and profits last year “with momentum accelerating into 2022”.

And while it didn’t given an update for the past few weeks (in which there have been reports of fashion sales in general weakening), it did say that in the 26 weeks to 30 July this year, total group sales were £146.8 million. This was 38% higher than the same period in 2021 and a massive 42.7% higher than the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

For 2021, the company said that group sales rose 50% compared to 2020. Both years were hit by pandemic restrictions but with 2020 having the shock of the very first lockdown and only a very cautious return to normality after it ended.

In 2021, consumers were clearly more used to online shopping during lockdowns and confident about getting back to normal behaviour as vaccines eventually reduced the impact of the Covid virus.

The firm’s 2021 financial year actually ran from the end of January 2021 up to 29 January 2022. It saw total group sales of £256.6 million compared to £170.7 million in the previous year.

Its profit before tax and exceptional items was up to £39.6 million from a loss of £3.8 million in the first year of pandemic. Meanwhile, profit before tax but after exceptional items was £34.4 million, again a swing from a loss of £13.6 million the year before.

International sales reached £81.8m, comprising more than 30% of total group sales and its omnichannel strategy is clearly paying off with its online share close to 50% of sales.

The company added that it addresses “well balanced demographics with an increasingly equal split between womenswear and menswear sales, [at] 57% and 43% respectively”.

CEO Christos Angelides said: “Reiss delivered record sales and profits, despite the retail lockdown closures in the first 10 weeks of the [2021 financial] year. The business has continued to deliver strong growth in the first half of the current year, across both men’s and women’s divisions and we are confident that profits this year will exceed those achieved in 2021”.

He added that the brand moving its e-tail ops to Next Total Platform in February 2022 “has delivered significant improvements in our delivery promise, customer service and returns options. In addition, it has improved stock availability for our retail and online channels, through making all stock available to order from home or in-store”.

Reiss upbeat as sales and profits boom

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