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Published
Sep 30, 2020
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Studio Retail upbeat after first half, strength continues

Published
Sep 30, 2020

Budget clothing and general merchandise retailer Studio Retail has seen a “strong retail performance” continuing at its Studio operation, driven by strength in its online offer during the first half.


Studio.co.uk



That was despite the ongoing impact of the pandemic in the half. It said that for the first 26 weeks of its trading year (the period to late September), product sales rose 39% overall. 

And the good performance seems to be continuing with the six weeks at the end of the period seeing sales up 30% year-on-year.

The company added that in the early weeks of its new AW20 season, kidswear, gifting and early Christmas ranges have been doing particularly well.

Meanwhile, its active customer base has grown by 15% in the last 12 months, currently standing at 2.1m customers, of which just under 1.4m customers have an active credit account.

The company, which once relied heavily on mail order, has made the most of the online boom during 2020 and sales e-sales now represent over 90% of total orders, with the Studio App having been downloaded more than 0.7 million times in under a year since its launch. 

While the fastest growth year-on-year online has been in its Home & Leisure ranges (+80%), Clothing & Footwear sales have grown by 22%, “despite an active decision to de-risk more seasonal clothing ranges at the start of lockdown”.

The de-risking of clothing ranges allowed its to exit the SS20 season with a clean stock position. The impact of this, alongside mix effects across the overall product ranges, led to the margin rate achieved in H1 being broadly flat against the prior year.

The peak trading period of Q3 covering Black Friday and Christmas historically accounts for around 40% of the full year's product sales. And with AW20 and Christmas sales seeming to be going well so far, it currently expects adjusted profit before tax from continuing operations (including the impact of IFRS 16) for the year to be ahead of its previous internal expectations.

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