The Very Group has recorded a drop in earnings and revenues in the first quarter as the UK fashion retailer battled economic headwinds and industry challenges.
For the 13 weeks ended 1 October 2022, The Very Group saw total revenues drop by 3% to GBP469.4m (US$562.93m) from GBP484.1m a year earlier.
Despite the drop, the company said it was a “robust performance against the challenges faced by the online non-food market”. Within this, Very UK revenue fell by 2.1% to GBP408.2m compared with the prior year. The UK online non-food retail market declined 3.8% over same period.
The group, which owns the Very and Littlewoods brands, saw group retail sales decrease by 6.7% and Very UK retail sales decline by 5.1% compared with last year, which The Very Group said was expected and is a “resilient result in the context of the challenging retail market”.
At a group level, fashion & sports retail sales declined by 9.6% and were down 8.1% at Very. This was driven by a reduction in sportswear in particular, while fashion alone was stable, the retailer said.
Companies Intelligence View All Reports View All Data Insights View All
Pre-tax profit, meanwhile, dropped to GBP2.2m from GBP7.2m restated in the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA came in at GBP58.2m, down from GBP65.6m a year earlier.
In its trading statement, The Very Group said: “As we continue to move through the economic headwinds and industry challenges that began in FY22, our business has continued to show its resilience in the face of difficult conditions.
“Despite the adverse economic environment, our business has delivered profitability and earnings, with positive pre-exceptional EBITDA.”
In the quarter, the company noted exceptional costs of GBP8.9m, reflecting spend on its tech acceleration programme. In addition, costs were incurred as part of refinancing a GBP550m bond with a new GBP575m bond and GBP4.3m in relation to its tech transformation programme.
