Drying up: Superdry slips to £85m loss as co-founder Dunkerton vows to ‘steady the ship’
Superdry shares plummeted in early morning trading after it slumped to a “disappointing” loss as the troubled retailer fights the ongoing stagnation on the high street.
The firm, which suffered a boardroom exodus in April after co-founder Julian Dunkerton won an audacious bid to reinstall himself onto the board, saw shares fall six per cent this morning.
The figures
Superdry made a statutory loss of £85.4m for the year ending 27 April, versus profit of £65.3m the previous year.
Revenue was stable at £871.7m, down around £300,000 year-on-year.
The retailer had a net cash position of £35.9m, less than half that of the £75.8m position last year.
Why it’s interesting
The firm said first half performance had benefited from a campaign of discounting last year, but that “all channels” had suffered in the second half of the year. This was largely down to what it described as “a difficult retail climate”. Conditions on the high street have already forced competitors Debenhams to the brink of collapse this year.
Superdry investors will hope that newly-installed interim chief executive Dunkerton can turn the firm around, however. He succeeded in dethroning previous boss Euan Sutherland at the firm’s April shareholder meeting.
Dunkerton waded into a bitter public row with the firm in the preceding months. Both he and Sutherland accused the other of leading the embattled retailer in the wrong direction.
Although chairman Peter Williams described today’s results as “very disappointing,” Dunkerton looked to give shareholders some hope. He said early initiatives in the effort to turn the store around were “gaining some early traction”. These have included ramping up the range of items available to shoppers. On Regent Street, the store has expanded from 2,800 items to 3,500 items.
Despite this, the firm warned revenues would likely continue declining in 2020 because of “high competitive” retail markets and “legacy issues” in the business.
Retail analyst Chris Field said the turnaround plan would depend on “addressing SuperDay’s hefty global store estate, which is underperforming due to legacy leasing and dwindling footfall as fashion shoppers move online”.
What Superdry said
Dunkerton said: “The issues in the business will not be resolved overnight. My first priority on returning to Superdry has been to steady the ship and get the culture of the business back to the one which drove its original success.
“All the team in Superdry are working incredibly hard to deliver the direction set out, with a real focus on returning the business to its design-led roots and getting the retail basics right.
“Although we are only three months in, our initiatives are gaining some early traction, and I am confident we are doing the right things to ensure that over time Superdry will return to strong profitable growth.”
Main image credit: Getty