Julian Dunkerton, CEO and founder of Superdry noted it had been a “difficult year for the business and the market conditions have been extremely challenging, especially in wholesale.”

Superdry FY23 results overview

• Group revenue £622.5m ($786.2m) vs £609.6m
• Loss before tax £21.7m vs profit of £21.6m year-on-year
• Statutory loss after tax £148.1m vs £22.4m resulting from accelerated non-cash impairments of store assets of £43.3m, a non-cash reduction in the recognised deferred tax assets from £66.3m at FY22 to £nil in the current year, and other adjusting items.
• Retail revenues grew 14.6%
• E-commerce revenues increased 14.3% thanks to good third-party site performance.
• Wholesale revenues fell 19.1%

Dunkerton said: “We’ve looked closely at how we operate and have taken decisive actions to improve our position, rebuild liquidity, and recapitalise our balance sheet, through careful preservation of cash and a re-engineered cost base.

“The good news is that despite the external turbulence, the brand is in sound health and has momentum. Stores and e-commerce delivered a strong sales performance, and I’m excited by our collections for the Autumn/Winter 23 season. While wholesale remains very challenging, I believe the new team in place will recover this business in the medium-term. I’m really excited by our new partnership in Asia, finalised after year-end, which not only has helped rebuild our balance sheet but will ensure Superdry can achieve its potential as a truly global brand.”

Superdry outlook

Superdry notes the consumer retail market continues to remain challenging and unpredictable beyond FY23. 

“The extreme weather events across the UK and Europe have had a negative impact on our Spring Summer collection. Conversely, our new Autumn Winter collection is selling better this early in the season, than usual. Building on the success of our jacket collection last year, we continue to anticipate another strong year for our outerwear.

“For the full year, we don’t expect to see significant revenue growth as we focus on cost savings and margin improvement. The £35m cost savings programme announced earlier in the year should be fully realised during FY24.”

Last month Superdry announced it had secured a secondary lending facility of up to £25m ($32m) from restructuring specialist Hilco Capital to support its turnaround plan and cost reduction programme.

In April, the retailer unveiled its intentions to achieve £35m in cost reductions as part of its turnaround initiative, involving activities such as optimising its store locations, and distribution savings, improving procurement, and reducing its product range.

At the same time, it revised its annual profit outlook for FY23 after sales in February and March missed expectations which the company blamed on the cost of living crisis and poor weather driving down demand.