Seasalt outperforms over Christmas period, prepares for further growth

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Jan 4, 2022

Seasalt is preparing for a particularly strong 2022 after the contemporary Cornish lifestyle brand outperformed over the Christmas trading period.

So buoyant is the retailer that it has engaged the services of PwC to advise the board on its strategic options, with a focus on increasing funding to support ambitious expansion plans, particularly in “select high-growth international markets”.

Following the vibrant Christmas trading period, Seasalt also said it expects total sales in the year ending 29 January to approach £100 million, with an EBITDA margin of up to 12%.

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So how good was the five-week trading period to 1 January?

Total omnichannel sales (online, stores and marketplace partners) increased 20% compared with the same period last year and rose an even better 33% compared to pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

Seasalt said its stores enjoyed a “record Christmas… with customers valuing the opportunity to experience the brand in person and interact with Seasalt’s fantastic store teams”. 

It noted its store base — predominantly in market towns and seaside resorts — didn’t suffer any drop in footfall such as that experienced in some city centre locations in the second half of December.

That helped push overall store revenues up 81% on the same period last year, and up 23% on 2019, figures that “demonstrate the resilience of the business”. 

Meanwhile, the online business also remained strong throughout the Christmas trading period, with digital sales continuing to “represent the majority of revenues, a trend that is expected to continue into 2022”, it also noted.

It said that “in the years ahead, Seasalt will grow its customer community in the UK through innovative marketing and continued excellence in product development”, which will include expanding its menswear range. 

And with a clear path to future growth, Seasalt is looking to “accelerate its expansion through new partnerships and access to external capital”, it added. 

CFO Malcolm Macdonald added: “The strong store performance over Christmas is a continuation of the theme we have seen since they reopened in April. We are very happy with the balance the business now enjoys from its complementary mix of a strong store portfolio and marketplace partners supporting the direct-to-consumer online retail channel, which represents 56% of total sales.

“We now look forward to our exciting plans to grow the business further over the next few years by acquiring more UK customers, expanding internationally and developing our menswear range.”