The British luxury label Mulberry presented solid annual results. Customers have returned to stores after lockdowns ended.
For the fiscal year ended April 2, the bag specialist posted sales of £152.4 million, up 32 percent from £115 million a year earlier.
Broken down by geographic region, retail sales in the UK home market rose 36 per cent to £89.8 million, while international retail sales rose 20 per cent to £40.4 million.
Asia-Pacific retail sales rose 28 percent, thanks to a 59 percent increase in China and an 11 percent increase in South Korea.
Online sales are falling
The increase in sales can be attributed to the return of customers to the stores after the end of the lockdowns. As a result, digital sales fell 16 percent year-on-year to £47.5 million, but were still 31 percent above pre-crisis levels.
Mulberry posted a pre-tax profit of £21.3m compared to £4.6m a year earlier. A one-off gain of £5.7 million from the sale of the Paris store lease is included in these latest figures.
Gross margin for the year was 71.7 percent, compared to 63.6 percent a year ago.
China weighs on sales
Mulberry’s sales for the first 12 weeks of the new fiscal year were up 5 percent year-on-year thanks to 29 percent growth in the wholesale business.
However, omnichannel sales, which include retail and online sales, fell 1 percent, which the company says is due to the Covid-19 restrictions in China.
Chief Executive Thierry Andretta said that the “financial results reflect the positive customer response to our product as well as the strategic decisions we have made over the past five years.”
He continued: “Even though the economic and geopolitical outlook remains uncertain, we are an iconic international brand with a clear strategy for future profitable and cash-generative growth.”
This translated post previously appeared on FashionUnited.uk.