LOCKDOWN SALES SLUMP SENDS SUPERDRY £167M INTO THE RED

LOSSES at Superdry have nearly doubled after its sales were hammered by the coronavirus lockdown.

The clothing brand lurched £166.9m into the red during the year to April 25, an even bigger loss than the £89.3m reported last year.

It followed the closure of all Superdry’s stores in April after pandemic lockdown measures were announced around the world.

That contributed to a 19pc drop in the retailer’s revenues, which fell to £704.4m, although this was also partly due to a change in strategy.

Yesterday the bleak results sent Superdry’s shares falling by 12.6pc.

Since founder and boss Julian Dunkerton returned last year, Superdry has reined in discounting at the company’s stores.

In January he said the proportion of sales that were discounted had halved since the peak of trading at Christmas.

But Dunkerton has been forced to put the plan on ice during the pandemic in order to offload surplus stock that has built up when stores were closed.

Around 95pc of Superdry’s stores have now reopened.

However, Dunkerton, 55, said that online sales had increased and that improvements had been made to the company’s website.

He added: ‘While our profit has been impacted by trading performance during the year, including Covid-19-related store closures, I am particularly pleased by how strongly ecommerce has performed, with the 2021 financial year first-quarter revenues nearly doubling year-on-year.

‘This has been complemented by our increased digital consumer engagement, which helped drive a stronger womenswear mix than we have ever seen before.

‘We are delivering on the reset of the business, despite the impacts of the pandemic.’

The chief executive has vowed to take the company, best known for its Japan-inspired designs, back to its roots by reducing the use of sales and re-focusing on outdoor clothing.