Hackett reports £8.4m loss, but 2016 Christmas sales soften the blow

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jan 10, 2017

Menswear brand Hackett said it swung to a loss in its financial year ended 31 March 2016, blaming the pound’s weakness against the dollar even before the Brexit vote and increased markdowns for the decrease.

The UK business posted in recently filed documents a loss in the UK and Ireland of £8.35 million, compared with a profit of £949,000 in the previous year. Turnover was down 2.4% to £107.3 million, while EBITDA shrank by 40.9% to nearly £3 million.

The retail business increased by 12.5% driven by  full year trading of its London store on Old Broad Street and new openings during the year at Bluewater in Kent and Gun Wharf Quays Outlet in Portsmouth.

Wholesale revenue, however, dropped by 6.2% during the period. This was largely attributed to a slowdown in European and Middle East wholesale deliveries for spring/summer 2016.

The company said e-commerce sales “showed a healthy increase” on the prior year.

Hackett has 113 stores and 55 concessions worldwide, and plans to continue to focus on its global expansion.

The current financial year has been kinder to the menswear brand, according to the Evening Standard. The label reported a sales increase across its London stores in December, as tourists took advantage of the cheap pound to buy into the brand.

However, if a weak pound hurt the brand in the prior year, it's unclear whether its ongoing weakness will have any more negative long-term effects.