Sosandar posts strong first half

FASHION

Womenswear retailer Sosandar has seen its first half revenue climb by 72% to £21 million following the success of a widened product range.

In the six months to 30 September, the company also posted a pre-tax profit of £0.1 million versus a loss of £1.1 million in the same period in the prior year.

Sosandar said the revenue growth was split equitably between its own ecommerce site and those of third party partners as it also benefited from fast-tracking the development of key product lines.

During the period, the retailer increased its number of orders by 43% to 347,137. It also grew its conversion rate, average order frequency and number of website visits. Meanwhile, average order value rose by 4% to £90.

Ali Hall and Julie Lavington, Sosandar co-chief executives, said: “We are very pleased to be reporting a strong performance for the six months ended 30 September 2022, with trading in line with our expectations for full year growth.

“This performance is a testament to the relevance of our strategy, unique and broad product offering and ever-increasing brand awareness, which has enabled us to continue to deliver for our customers, despite the challenging macroeconomic backdrop.”

The company said trading in the second half of its financial year to date has been encouraging with two further consecutive months of profitability in October and November. Black Friday saw a record number of visits to Sosandar.com and the strongest sales week on record for  third party partners.

Looking ahead, Hall and Lavington said: “We have a brilliant brand, highly differentiated product that is in demand across all our channels and a great team who constantly execute our strategy well. We continue to trade in line with market expectations for the full year and remain confident in the longer-term outlook for the business.”