Jigsaw prospers despite tough UK market, boosted by online and international growth

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jul 3, 2017

Jigsaw has just filed its annual accounts at Companies House and the figures show a fashion chain that’s defying the UK downturn, that’s taking advantage of the migration to e-tail and that’s also making the most of opportunities abroad.

It’s also rewarding its staff as the firm’s loyalty plan saw employees sharing in almost £500,000 in a shares scheme.  Around 600 people who have been with the company for over a year will get a share of the pot. The scheme was launched last year by CEO Peter Ruis and is said to be similar to the John Lewis incentive scheme with Ruis having previously worked for that employee-owned chain.

But while the staff shared almost half a million, six directors got a share of £1.1 million in dividends as the firm continued to outperform in a tough retail market.

The business, which has 77 stores and 48 concessions, said profits rose 11% to £6.2 million in the year to October 1.
The mid-market chain also said its sales rose 8% with e-sales surging by 18% in its domestic market to £19 million. That helped take total sales to £94.7 million with the chain set to top the magic £100 million marker at some point soon. The retailer’s adjusted Ebitda rose from £5.4m to £5.7m.

The international growth was important for a business that derives most of its revenue from the UK. In fact, £89.5 million of the £94.7 million was from UK physical store and online sales.

But a debut in the Netherlands, more US concessions and the incorporation of its Australian franchise partner meant an increase in foreign sales. European sales rose to £1.9 million from £445,000 a year earlier and in the rest of the world, they rose from £1.78 million to £3.35 million. Those figures, while still relatively low, suggest a world of opportunity for the firm should UK growth stall in the future as Brexit issues and consumer caution undermine fashion retail at home.