TIDMSOS
RNS Number : 2145V
Sosandar PLC
13 April 2021
Date: 13 April 2021
On behalf of: Sosandar plc ('Sosandar' or 'the Company')
Embargoed until: 0701hrs
Sosandar plc
Trading Update
A year of strong revenue growth accelerating in Q4 with
substantial EBITDA improvement year on year
Sosandar, the online women's fashion brand, is pleased to
provide the following trading update for its financial year ended
31 March 2021.
The Company delivered another strong performance in its fourth
quarter (January - March 2021) with revenue of GBP3.94m, up 63%
year on year. Customer activity stepped up each month during the
quarter with record revenue delivered in the month of March, up 66%
compared to January and 163% up on the lockdown impacted previous
year. This performance reflects an increasing level of consumer
optimism as lockdown restrictions start to lift. Gross margin has
also shown continual improvement throughout the fourth quarter with
March at 54.0%.
Highlights for the financial year ended 31 March 2021:
* The Company expects to report revenue of GBP12.2m, up
35% year on year, with the EBITDA loss reduced by
over 60%
* Continued engagement with loyal customer base:
o Number of orders increased 29% to 276k
o Repeat orders increased 40% to 190k
o Conversion rate increased to 3.1% from 2.7%
* Gross margin 48.1% (48.5% in the prior year)
reflecting promotional activity during the period of
lockdowns
* Continued improvement in returns rate, which reduced
to 43% (from 50% in the prior year), reflecting a
diversification of product mix
* Strong sales with John Lewis and Next, with March
being a new record month and a significant step up on
the previous best, and the product range continuing
to develop and expand
* Successfully launched with Marks & Spencer as a
third-party online retailer at the end of March with
excellent initial sales
* Net cash of GBP3.93m as at 31 March 2021, being
slightly improved compared with 31 December 2020,
reflecting the strong trading performance, continued
careful cost management and focus on return on
investment from the marketing spend
The Company is pleased to have delivered increased sales, better
cost efficiency, ever increasing engagement with customers and an
expanded product range in spite of a very challenging and volatile
market backdrop, demonstrating management's ability to successfully
navigate changing circumstances.
This strong growth has also been achieved despite a significant
overall reduction in marketing spend over the period. Utilising
learnings from the previous financial year, the Company has been
able to maximise its return on investment from marketing
throughout. The Company has engaged in successful customer
acquisition at key periods with more new customers acquired
compared to the prior year on less than half the marketing spend.
Following success in February and March, the Company plans to
continue with carefully controlled customer acquisition in April
and May and continue using these learnings to maintain higher
returns on investment longer-term.
Throughout the year the Company has continued to invest and
expand the product range, a key factor in its strong trading
performance. As an agile business it has been able to fast track
developments in its product range to meet consumer demand
reflecting the changing circumstances. Loungewear, knitwear, denim
and outerwear have all performed particularly well. In January 2021
the Company launched active and leisure wear, with strong sales
results and the category already being established as a key part of
the product mix.
The Company successfully launched with both John Lewis and Next
on their website platforms in August and has continued to release
regular new drops of stock to the retailers since. Trading to date
with both retail partners has been very successful, with March 2021
delivering record monthly revenues. The Company has just launched
with Marks & Spencer, where the initial product range has been
incredibly well received by the M&S customer with many styles
selling out and being quickly replenished in the first week of
trading. These partnerships allow Sosandar to further increase
brand awareness across its target market, whilst driving
incremental sales and accelerating improvement in EBITDA.
Market positioning and outlook
Moving into Spring and with the loosening of restrictions laid
out, Sosandar has seen early signs that customers are preparing
their wardrobes for a busy summer. This includes an increase in the
sales across all key categories, in particular colourful dresses,
tops and denim.
Looking to the year ahead, against a backdrop of improving
visibility, Sosandar is very well positioned to accelerate its
growth trajectory and further improve EBITDA. The acceleration in
the adoption of online shopping has expanded the long-term market
opportunity, and as a pureplay ecommerce brand, the Company is set
up to successfully cater to customers through this channel. The
team has demonstrated its skilful management throughout 2020,
maintaining a strong cash position whilst developing the
infrastructure and capability for future growth. The Sosandar brand
has also shown its desirability in having been chosen to appear on
the platforms of three major British retailers. The Company sees
many opportunities for growth both on its own site and with its
retail partners in the coming months and beyond.
Conference call
Sosandar is hosting a Q&A call for analysts and investors
today at 08:30am to discuss the Trading Update. If you
would like to register for the call please follow this link: http://bit.ly/SOS_FY_Trading_Update
Ali Hall and Julie Lavington, Co-CEOs commented:
" In what has been a year that no one could have possibly
predicted, we are delighted to have shown resilience and our
entrepreneurial spirit, overcoming challenges to deliver a
significant improvement in revenue and reduction in EBITDA losses,
together with the further diversification of our product range.
The progress we are making reflects the scale of our opportunity
and growing demand for our unique offering in the market. The
recent purchasing trends that we have seen from our customers point
to a period of increased activity and we believe that our extensive
product range can cater to their needs.
We would like to take this opportunity to extend our sincere
thanks to all our colleagues, partners, and suppliers for their
hard work and commitment throughout what has been a difficult time
for everyone.
Inevitably, some uncertainty remains, however, we are seeing a
gradual return to more normalised trading conditions and now have
much greater visibility over forward trading. We are confident in
what the future holds, and believe that Sosandar is well positioned
to take advantage of the opportunities ahead of us."
Enquiries
Sosandar plc www.sosandar.com
Julie Lavington / Ali Hall, Joint CEOs c/o Alma PR
N+1 Singer (Nominated Adviser & Broker)
Peter Steel / Kailey Aliyar / Hannah Woodley +44 (0) 20 7496 3000
Alma PR Limited (Financial PR) +44 (0) 20 3405 0205
Susie Hudson / Sam Modlin / Molly Gretton sosandar@almapr.co.uk
This announcement contains information which, prior to its
disclosure, was inside information as stipulated under Regulation
11 of the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310
(as amended).
About Sosandar PLC
Sosandar is an online womenswear brand, specifically targeted at
a generation of women who have graduated from throwaway fashion and
are looking for quality, affordable clothing with a premium,
trend-led aesthetic. This is a section of the market that is
currently being underserved.
Sosandar was launched in September 2016. The Sosandar business
model is built around using trend-led, exclusive designs produced
in-house and then manufactured using a variety of global suppliers.
Sosandar caters for a growing market of fashion-conscious women,
while utilising an outsourced logistics provider that can support
its planned growth over the coming years.
Sosandar's founders are Ali Hall and Julie Lavington, who
previously launched and ran high street fashion magazine Look, as
editor and publishing director respectively. They have a combined
experience of over 35 years in the fashion industry.
More information is available at www.sosandar-ir.com
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END
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