Missguided sales soar as it expands physical footprint

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Dec 1, 2016

Omnichannel fashion retailer Missguided saw sales surging 34% in the year to March with annual turnover up to £117m as it boosted its physical presence and expanded beyond its online roots.

But the company said pre-tax profits dropped to £2.6m from £5.5m on the back of heavy spending on its expansion programme both online and in-store.

However, that spend appears to be paying off with the company saying that it has grown 60% in the first half of the new financial year to September

The large investment last year has impacted all of the company’s operations with it opening a new warehouse and HQ, and adding hundreds of new staff. It has also widened its product offer with the addition of intimates and sleepwear, as well as specialist sizes such as plus-size, petite and tall.

Since the last financial year ended, the retailer has also opened a giant flagship in Westfield Stratford in London, the first of a number of stores it is planning in its domestic market.

But in the latest year, Missguided saw its international operations growing even faster than in the UK with a 40% surge as it expanded both its physical presence and its online ops. It now has 60 concessions in Nordstrom in the US, it sells its ranges through Asos and Zalando, and it unveiled local sites for Germany and Poland.

As those new foreign language sites suggest, online remains a key focus and the firm has launched a native app that has seen 1m downloads, added free returns and extra payment and delivery services, as well as boosting its marketing and engagement efforts via social media.

The company said it has 3.3m followers across nine social media channels including over 2m followers on Instagram and nearly 1m on Facebook.