Orla Kiely profits fall, firm is worried about Brexit

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 10, 2016

Pre-tax profits fell at Kiely Rowan, the company behind the Orla Kiely fashion, accessories and textiles brand, in the the year to March 31. The fall came as revenues also dropped to £7.2m from £8.16m a year earlier, on the back of a move away from from low margin discounting.

The company generated £4.83m of its revenues in the UK in the 12-month period with £1.57m coming from the US, a rise on the £1.12m of a year earlier. The company is planning further US expansion in the current year having already opened a flagship West Village, New York City.

However, European revenues fell sharply to £375,343 from £1.3m as the UK distributor took over responsibility for handling exports to Europe. The company has been moving toward a distributor model rather than its own wholesale operations and said this hurt revenues in the short term, although it will help the international expansion drive, especially in Asia.

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The accounts showed that staff numbers fell from 62 to 57 with staff costs down by £0.3m to £1.94m as a result.

The firm also said in the accounts the UK's "exit from EU is a possible threat to our Irish business. A weak euro will also impact on margins in that territory."

Kiely runs the business from London with her husband, Dermott Rowan.