Boden asserts its recovery is progressing well despite a significant increase in losses for the past year.
- The retailer reported a substantial £9.4m loss, more than doubling the previous year’s £3.9m loss.
- Sales fell by 13% to £304.5m, notably due to a performance downturn in late 2022 and early 2023.
- Strategic changes in leadership and marketing have begun showing results, boosting sales and profitability in 2024.
- A strong surge in womenswear and reduced discounting have improved margins, signaling a return to profitability.
Boden, the clothing and lifestyle retailer, has communicated a positive outlook regarding its ongoing recovery, despite revealing that its losses more than doubled to £9.4 million in the year ending December 2023, compared to £3.9 million the previous year. These financial difficulties were compounded by a 13% decline in sales, falling to £304.5 million, driven largely by a sharp downturn in business performance during the latter half of 2022 that persisted into 2023.
In an effort to address these challenges, Boden restructured its leadership team and revised its product and marketing strategies in early 2023. Although such changes took time to manifest in terms of impacting stock, sales, and profitability, the company reports that signs of recovery have become evident, particularly in the first half of 2024. Boden has noted a stabilisation of performance in the latter half of 2023, which was bolstered by a 19% increase in full-price womenswear sales year-on-year, largely attributed to a strategic return to catalogue marketing and the introduction of new seasonal collections targeted at existing customers.
The company has reported an 18% increase in sales in the first half of 2024, with womenswear experiencing a remarkable 35% surge, and dress sales specifically seeing a 47% increase. Furthermore, reduced discounting practices have contributed to an enhancement in gross margin by seven percentage points, enabling Boden to regain profitability within the same timeframe. Johnnie Boden, the company’s founder and creative director, candidly acknowledged past mistakes but praised the team’s efforts, stating: “I made a series of serious mistakes and felt like a fool. The brilliant team at Boden couldn’t have responded better, bringing Boden back to its very best.”
Boden’s strategic adjustments and focused marketing have set the company back on a path towards growth and financial recovery in 2024.
