boohoo.com plc ‘gathering momentum’ as revenues top £579m

Ecommerce group boohoo.com plc saw profits and revenues skyrocket last year.

The Manchester-headquartered company made a pre-tax profit of £43.3m in the 12 months to February 28 2018, a year-on-year increase of 40%.

boohoo.com plc revenues for the period came in at £579.8m, almost double the £294.6m recorded in 2016/17.

Of the total sales, the company’s core boohoo platform accounted for £374.1m, representing growth of 32%.

PrettyLittleThing, acquired at the start of 2017, grew revenues 228% to £181.3m. According to a report last summer, PrettyLittleThing is now the fastest growing online fashion brand.

Nasty Gal generated a revenue of £24.4m. The company was a startup when boohoo.com plc acquired it in February 2017.

The group has attributed the growth to a number of factors across its business – among them, the extension of its distribution centre to create capacity for a £1bn operation, investing in customer service for the boohoo brand, driving high profile celebrity associations with PrettyLittleThing and securing new offices in Manchester and Los Angeles for the growing Nasty Gal team.

Joint CEOs Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane said in a statement: “The group made great progress during the year, integrating a new company, PrettyLittleThing, and a new brand, Nasty Gal, into the boohoo group.

“Revenue from boohoo continued to grow strongly, whilst there has been an exceptional performance from PrettyLittleThing, and Nasty Gal exceeded our estimates in its first year. Against a backdrop of difficult trading in the UK clothing sector, the group continued to perform well, gaining market share in the expanding online sector.”

They continued: “Our international business showed higher growth rates and we are pleased with its gathering momentum.

“Our strategy will remain focussed on providing the best fashion at great prices coupled with excellent customer service. To this end we have a plan of continuous investment in systems and technology to ensure we offer an optimal online shopping experience. International expansion will continue as we add more country-specific websites, refine our brands’ customer proposition and raise brand awareness through marketing and social media. Our extended distribution centre, which will have a significant element of automation to drive efficiency savings, is scheduled for operational use in early 2019.”

Elsewhere, boohoo.com plc announced this morning (April 25) that its PrettyLittleThing business will move into its own warehouse during H1 FY19, increasing sales capacity.