Hackett sales bounce back from pandemic, losses are narrowed

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Dec 15, 2022

Savile Row tailor Hackett London has reported its results for the year to the end of March with turnover in the period rising a healthy 47.41% to £87.7 million. This increase came as it continued to return to normality after pandemic lockdowns in the previous financial year. 

It also resulted in EBITDA of £4.06 million, a swing from a loss of £8.55 million in the previous period. That said, the company made a net loss for the financial year due to various one-off costs, albeit one that was much smaller. This time it was £1.6 million compared to £20.5 million 12 months earlier. 

The company said that its sales through full-price physical stores during the year rose 410.7%, and through outlet stores they rose 236.3%, which was impressive. Physical spaces had been closed for months in the previous period and the increases helped it recover from the prior year’s 82.3% fall in full-price stores and the 73.7% drop through outlet stores.

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As of the end of the financial year, the company had 13 full-price stores in the UK and six outlets, which was the same as 12 months earlier, despite the fact that it had to close its Kilver Court store due to the centre itself closing. The company also relocated its stores at Gunwharf and Westfield to smaller spaces “to maximise potential returns”, while an outlet was opened in Braintree.

It also said that as with retail, the return to normality post-pandemic saw wholesale recovering with sales for this channel up 24.2%, compared to a 29.5% drop in the previous year. 

And it was encouraging that e-commerce continue to show steady growth with a 6.5% rise coming on top of the 85.2% increase in the previous lockdown year. Many upscale brands have reported e-commerce falls as their physical stores reopened, so the fact that Hackett was able to continue driving online sales higher is good news. The company said that web sessions rose 18% during the year and conversion improved by 2%.

As for the future, it said it's continuing to work on its transformation plan that began in the 2020/21 year. It aims to further digitalise and automate its systems and processes. However, it added that while online is a key factor in its success, the reopening of physical stores has shown the value of these. It's working on finding the right balance between online and physical to enhance the customer experience.