Joules boss ‘encouraged’ by first quarter performance despite revenue slide
British retailer Joules has reported a drop in revenue for the first quarter, but its boss said he is “encouraged” by the group’s performance.
Chief executive Nick Jones said sales for the 13 weeks to the end of August had exceeded expectations, although group revenue slipped 18 per cent to £39.6m.
Revenue through Joules’ own ecommerce channels rose 63 per cent, while total ecommerce sales climbed 45 per cent year-on-year.
Retail revenues dipped five per cent, with retail sales via the group’s own channels increased 1.5 per cent, which Joules attributed to “a strong product and promotional offer”.
Shares in the company rose 5.34 per cent in morning trading.
Jones said he was “encouraged” by Joules’ first quarter performance, which he said was “testament to the flexibility of the Joules model and the increasing strength, relevance and awareness of the Joules brand”.
“As with all consumer-facing businesses we face challenging trading conditions and unprecedented levels of uncertainty over the coming months and into the peak Christmas trading season,” he continued.
“Against this backdrop we remain cautious on the future trading outlook and will continue to tightly manage costs and conserve cash.”
Joules began a phased reopening of its 128 stores in the UK and Ireland following the coronavirus lockdown on 15 June, with all stores open by early August.
The company said its stores had exceeded the board’s expectations, with sales performance since reopening 10 per cent lower than the same period last year. For the entire period, including the impact of store closures, retail store sales dropped 49 per cent.
Jones said the group “[has] been pleased with the performance of our stores since reopening with higher levels of conversion when compared to pre-lockdown and steadily improving footfall trends”.