Sosandar losses narrow as retailer reduces discounts

Sosandar’s losses narrowed sharply in the first half as the women’s fashion brand continued to sell more full-price products and reduced discounts.

The retailer revealed pre-tax losses fell 51 per cent to £659,000 in the six months to September, from around £1.3m in the same period last year.

Since 2023, the Cheshire-based company has been reducing promotional activity outside of major scheduled events as part of its transition towards becoming a multi-channel company.

Although this contributed to its turnover falling 27 per cent to £16.2 million in the latest half-year, the company’s gross margins expanded 6.8 percentage points to 62.2 per cent.

Sosandar said gross margins continued to rise during October and November, reaching an average of 64 percent, while operations had been in line with annual forecasts.

For the year to March 2025, the group expects to achieve £40.5m in revenue and £1m in pre-tax profits.

Ali Hall and Julie Lavington, joint chief executives of Sosandar, said the group has enjoyed “extremely strong sales” of occasion wear, knitwear and denim dresses ahead of the Christmas peak season.

The company also recently opened a site in Cardiff’s St David’s Centre, its fourth store after opening outlets in Marlow, Chelmsford and Gateshead’s Metrocentre earlier this year.

“Seeing the Sosandar brand on high streets and the reaction we have received so far validates our decision to offer our customers more ways to shop with our brand,” Hall and Lavington said.

They added: “Looking ahead, we remain incredibly excited about what lies ahead for Sosandar as we capitalize on the many opportunities available to us and bring the Sosandar brand to more customers across the UK and around the world.”

Earlier this month, Sosandar struck a licensing deal with clothing giant Next for a new range of homewares, which it plans to launch in autumn next year.

Under the agreement, Next will exclusively sell a suite of Sosandar-branded living room furniture and accessories, such as sofas, accent chairs and lighting.

Hall and Lavington said it “shows the leverage and brand equity we have built and will allow us to expand our reach to new audiences and enable existing customers to deepen their affinity with our brand.”

Following their careers in the publishing industry, the couple founded Sosandar in 2016 to sell high-quality clothing to “fashion-conscious” women over 30.

Celebrity fans of the brand include TV presenters Susanna Reid, Christine Lampard, Lorraine Kelly and Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden.

Sosandar shares rose 6.3 per cent to 9.3p on Tuesday afternoon, but are still down around 40 per cent since the start of the year.