Sosandar losses slim as retailer scales again discounting

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

The retailer revealed pre-tax losses slumped by 51 per cent to £659,000 in the six months ending September, from around £1.3million 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 multichannel business.

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

Sosandar said gross margins continued to rise during October and November, hitting an average of 64 per cent, while trading had been commensurate with annual forecasts.

For the year to March 2025, the group anticipates achieving £40.5million in revenue and £1million in pre-tax profits.

Full pricing: Womenswear retailer Sosandar has been reducing promotional activity outside of major scheduled events since last year

Ali Hall and Julie Lavington, joint chief executives of Sosandar, noted the group has enjoyed ‘extremely strong sales’ of occasionwear, knitted dresses, and denim ahead of the peak Christmas season.

The business also recently opened a site in Cardiff’s St David’s Centre, its fourth store after launching 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 give our customers more ways to shop with our brand,’ said Hall and Lavington.

They added: ‘Looking ahead, we remain incredibly excited for what lies ahead for Sosandar as we take advantage of the multiple opportunities available to us, and we take the Sosandar brand to more customers across the UK and worldwide.’

Earlier this month, Sosandar struck a licensing agreement with clothing giant Next for a new homewares range, which it anticipates will launch in autumn next year.

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

Hall and Lavington said it ‘shows the leverage and brand equity that we have built and will allow us to broaden our reach into new audiences and enable existing customers to deepen their affinity to our brand’.

Following careers in the publishing industry, the pair founded Sosandar in 2016 in order to sell high-quality clothing to ‘fashion-conscious’ women over 30 years old.

Among the brand’s celebrity fans are television presenters Susanna Reid, Christine Lampard, Lorraine Kelly and Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden.

Sosandar shares were 6.3 per cent up at 9.3p on late Tuesday afternoon, but have still shrunk by around 40 per cent since the year started.