Store openings assist in turnover increase
New Look has managed a 1.2 billion pounds turnover (1.44 billion euro) in the first three quarters of its broken fiscal year, a 5.6 % improvement on the year before. The like-for-like turnover growth was a ‘mere’ 1.1 %, but thanks to new stores, it has clearly managed to sell quite a bit more.
Online sales were the major contributor, as the 39 weeks leading up to the end of December web sales grew 65.6 % compared to the the year before. There is a difference between the sales in its own web shop (+ 43.3 %) and those in third party stores though, which grew even faster.
More focus on men’s clothing and China
In the meantime, New Look is still powering forward with its international expansion as it will open its first Chinese stores next month, one in Beijing and one in Shanghai. These two are the first of twenty stores there that have to open by next year, while the group also wants to expand into Russia and will buy out its joint venture partner in Poland. Worldwide, New Look currently has 1,104 stores.
CEO Anders Kristianson wants to focus more on men’s clothing and has set an 8 % marker, which means it will have to double its current share of the total revenue. Tom Singh, the founder, and two investment funds (Apax and Permira) currently own New Look and together they want to get the group on track after 2013’s final quarter resulted in an 83.3 million pound profit (100 million euro). Once the company has a firm foundation, an IPO might be considered.
