British luxury brand Mulberry has made a loss of £8.2m for the six months to 30 September 2018 — up from a loss of £600,0000 for the same period in 2017– following House of Fraser’s (HoF) collapse into administration before being bought by Sports Direct.
Mulberry’s UK sales fell 11 per cent year on year following HoF’s collapse and “soft retail conditions”. Total revenue was down 8 per cent to £68.3m, while international retail sales were up 13 per cent.
On the upside, the group said it had signed a deal with John Lewis to sell its products through a concession at the department store.
CEO Thierry Andretta added: “We are delivering on the strategy to develop Mulberry as a global luxury brand with new subsidiaries in Korea and Japan, the creation of digital partnerships in China and the additions to our own store network in Asia.
”In the UK, our most important market, we are pleased to have signed a concession agreement with John Lewis & Partners, advancing our direct to consumer reach. We are proud to be the largest manufacturer of luxury leather goods in the UK and remain committed to supporting “Made in England” through our two Somerset factories.
”We are confident that our focus on international growth is the correct strategy to develop Mulberry. We are well positioned for the Christmas trading period, which as ever, will determine our full year result.”
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