The British leather goods specialist Mulberry Group Plc increased its sales in the first half of the 2023/24 financial year despite difficult conditions. However, the loss was significantly higher than in the same period last year.
According to an interim report published on Thursday, Mulberry generated sales of 69.7 million British pounds in the months April to September. This corresponded to an increase of seven percent (currency-adjusted +8 percent) compared to the previous year’s level.
The company’s own retail sector grew strongly, with sales increasing by 16 percent to 59.7 million British pounds. Sales increased significantly both in boutiques (+12 percent) and in online business (+25 percent).
However, the significant increase was due not least to the fact that Mulberry has taken over its own retail activities in Australia, Sweden, New Zealand and Japan over the past few months. These measures also contributed to sales in the wholesale and franchise business falling by 25 percent to 10.0 million British pounds.
The change in the sales model in the four markets and further investments intended to ensure growth in the future led to higher costs. So the company slipped deeper into the red. The operating loss, which was 2.2 million British pounds in the same period last year, increased to 10.4 million British pounds. The net loss attributable to shareholders increased from 2.7 to 12.3 million British pounds (14.2 million euros).
