Harvey Nichols: Customers returning to luxury department store chain helps sales pass £200m and slash losses
More customers choosing to shop at Harvey Nichols helped sales pass £200m for the first time since the pandemic, according to newly-filed accounts.
The luxury department store chain, which was founded in 1831, has reported a revenue of £216.6m for the year to April 1, 2023, up from £191.6m.
The delayed accounts, which have just been filed with Companies House, also show that its pre-tax losses were cut from £30.4m to £21.2m over the same period.
The last time Harvey Nichols reported a revenue of more than £200m was the £222.1m it reported for the year to March 28, 2020.
It last made a pre-tax profit in the year to March 30, 2019, when it posted a result of £2.6m.
As well as its flagship store in Knightsbridge, London, Harvey Nichols also has locations in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin as well as Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar.
Harvey Nichols is owned by Hong Kong luxury goods company, Dickson Concepts.
Cost increases offset higher footfall at Harvey Nichols
In a statement signed off by the board, Harvey Nichols said: “The year was the first full year not impacted by Covid restrictions since the beginning of the pandemic.
“Although higher footfall drove increased sales, cost increases and margin decline due to higher levels of discounting across the market have driven a loss before tax.”
It added: “The directors believe that the group is able to manage its business risks despite ongoing economic uncertainty.
“The group has modelled a cautious yet realistic base case considering the level of trading to date.
“The directors have stress-tested these assumptions and have prepared a reasonably plausible scenario allowing for slower than expected recovery of trade and increased costs driven by inflationary pressures.”
Harvey Nichols generated a revenue of £204.6m from its physical stores, online and head office in the year, up from £180m and cut its operating losses from £25.7m to £14.9m.
Revenue at its stand along restaurants rose from £11.6m to £11.9m but it went from making an operating profit of £231,000 to a loss of £474,000.
On a geographical basis, Harvey Nichols saw its revenue increase in the UK from £169.5m to £194.1m and edge up slightly from £22.1m to £22.4m in the rest of the world.
Job cuts and a new chief executive
During the year the average number of people employed by the business grew from 1,167 to 1,289.
In March 2024, Harvey Nichols announced plans to cut around five per cent of its workforce as it looked to streamline operations and move towards profitability.
The results come after Harvey Nichols announced that Julia Goddard as its new chief executive following the departure of Manju Malhotra towards the end of 2023.
Goddard joins from Alexander McQueen where she spent 14 years. She will report to chairman Sir Dickson Poon and vice-chairman Pearson Poon.