Superdry sales slide after pandemic restrictions hit stores

Fashion retailer Superdry saw sales slide over the past six months after the pandemic hit store footfall.

The London-listed company said its revenue for the 26 weeks to October 24 fell by 23% compared with the same period last year, as it was impacted by store closures.

It said it was also impacted by significantly reduced footfall once its stores opened their doors again in June.

The latest update comes as clothing retailers, including Superdry, shut their doors for England’s second national lockdown, which is set to last at least four weeks.

Julian Dunkerton, chief executive and founder of the brand, stressed that the outlook is “very uncertain” but hailed “good progress” over its recent turnaround plan.

Store sales for the past six months fell by 45% but the founder hailed strong online sales which improved in the second quarter.

Online shopping revenues rose by 50% in the first half, however this was partly offset by a 29% decline in wholesale revenues.

Mr Dunkerton said: “Covid-19 continues to disrupt our store and wholesale channels, but this is being partially mitigated by strong sales through our ecommerce operations.

“This has been an important period for Superdry, with the launch of our full autumn/winter 2020 ranges and a true focus on using our social channels to reach our customers and bring our brand reset to life.

“We are determined to do the right thing by all our stakeholders – including colleagues, our retail and wholesale customers and investors – to ensure the business and brand returns to success.”

Shares were 6.4% lower at 155.4p in early trading on Thursday.