Jaeger: Solid Christmas trading and strong online performance help turnaround

By

Cajsa Lykke Carlson

Published
Jan 9, 2015

Jaeger, the British fashion brand which has previously struggled to appeal to a younger generation, is making good progress delivering its five-year turnaround strategy. The company released its financial results for the 13 weeks to January 3 today, revealing that total sales rose 8.3% in the period, with like-for-like sales up 8%.

The results were boosted by strong online sales, up 78% in the period, with 39% of online sales coming from mobile and tablet devices. Click-and-collect sales were up 82%.

Jaeger's tactic of re-introducing premier quality fabrics in its collections also paid off, with cashmere sales up 91% in the 13 weeks and "a strong performance" from wool outerwear and tailoring.

Over the "Black Friday" - "Cyber Monday" weekend, total sales rose 77% year-on-year. Margins in the 13-week period were impacted by the mild weather in November and December, which required more promotional activity to clear stock.

Jaeger is also updating its UK store portfolio and plans to retain a broadly similar number of stores over the next four years, opening new stores in prime locations and exiting a small number of loss-making stores, the company stated.

Colin Henry, CEO, commented: “We are pleased with the progress we have made during the period. Whilst we are still in the early stages of our five year turnaround, the improved performance from Jaeger Online and at our new concept stores shows our strategy is paying off.”