Superdry Plc Group revenue down 1.5%, impacted by subdued store and Ecommerce sales

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Superdry Plc (LON:SDRY), the Global Digital Brand, today announced a trading update for the 13-week period from 28 October 2018 to 26 January 2019.

Performance Highlights

Revenue2,3

13 weeks to 26 January 2019 (‘Q3 19’) £m	13 weeks to 27 January 2018 (‘Q3 18’) £m	Growth
Global Brand revenue²	479.6	454.9	5.4%

Group revenue	269.3	273.3	(1.5%)

Channel revenue
Wholesale	73.5	65.2	12.7%
Ecommerce	69.0	69.5	(0.7%)
Store	126.8	138.6	(8.5%)

Average retail space (‘000’s sq. ft.)	1,201	1,170	2.6%

· Global Brand revenue2 of £479.6m increased by 5.4% year on year, predominantly driven by strong Wholesale performance in the quarter

· Group revenue down 1.5% year on year, impacted by subdued store and Ecommerce sales driven by ongoing legacy product issues and continued unseasonably warm weather throughout the quarter

· Wholesale revenue up 12.7% to £73.5m (Q3 18: £65.2m) driven by forward order despatches, with continued strong full price growth in the US

· Ecommerce performance further impacted by a lower number of owned site promotions in some territories

· Comprehensive programme to deliver £50m+ gross cost savings by FY22 gathering pace

· Executive team strengthened by appointments of Phil Dickinson as Creative Director and Lucy Maitland-Walker as Merchandising Director who both joined in January

Transformation update

As outlined on 12 December 2018, the comprehensive transformation programme has been intensified in response to the challenges faced. This programme builds on the underlying strengths of the brand and the operational capability which has been established over the last four years. A full update will be provided on the areas below at a Capital Markets Event planned for late March 2019:

· The product diversification and innovation programme launched in summer 2018 has continued at pace. The early results of the programme will be seen in the autumn/winter collection for 2019 and in the launch of Kidswear, with further impact coming through with the launch of the spring/summer ranges for 2020;

· The programme of work to evolve the brand is underway, driving improvements in our brand architecture which can be flowed through product, stores and online and through our relationships with Wholesale and franchise partners;

· The work needed to deliver the efficiency programme announced on 12 December 2018 (targeting gross costs savings of at least £50m by FY22) kicked off before Christmas and has gained pace in the first few weeks of the New Year.

Commenting on Superdry’s performance Euan Sutherland, Chief Executive Officer, said:

“Superdry’s performance has remained subdued during quarter three. We continued to be impacted by the ongoing product mix and relevance issues we have previously highlighted and by the lack, until the end of quarter three and the start of quarter four, of any prolonged period of cold weather in our key markets.

“We are pleased with the early progress being made with our transformation programme, designed to reset the business and deliver a return to higher levels of growth and profitability.”