Seasalt reports an “excellent year” with revenue up 12 percent

British clothing and lifestyle brand Seasalt, based in Cornwall, has reported a 146 percent increase in operating profit to 7.9 million pounds for the year ending January 2024 on the previous year.

Total revenue increased 12 percent year-on-year, with turnover more than doubling in the last five years to 132.6 million pounds.

Despite facing ongoing external challenges and economic uncertainty, Seasalt states it has performed “beyond expectation,” after identifying and maximising opportunities in the market, such as increasing its store portfolio.

It adds that it has had a “record-breaking year” in bricks and mortar store sales, with all stores forging ahead versus the previous year, achieving a 10 percent increase across the portfolio, while customers spent “significantly more” per visit.

Throughout 2023, Seasalt continued to open new stores in the UK and Ireland including in Meadowhall in Sheffield, Aberdeen, Trentham, Malvern, a pop-up store in Plymouth and a third Irish store in Kenmare. The new openings have taken its total store number to 73, all of which it adds “are profitable”.

The company said its stores are a “strong brand awareness driver” for the brand, which in turn has helped the online business to grow.

Seasalt revenue boosted by store sales and third-party partners

Seasalt also noted it has made “significant progress” in growing relationships with third-party partners, including Marks & Spencer, Next and Zalando, through a combination of online-only and physical stores. Third-party platforms now account for 13 percent of group revenues, compared with 9 percent in the prior year.

The company has also heavily invested in technology over the year, including undertaking a process to implement a new ERP solution, along with a major transformation of the data platform. These improvements it states will deliver efficiencies and increased productivity across the business, providing customers with a seamless unified retail experience wherever they choose to shop with the brand.

Paul Hayes, chief executive officer of Seasalt Cornwall, said in a statement: “Sales have been very strong throughout the trading period in review, and we’re delighted to build on the ongoing success of recent years, in the face of obvious external challenges and economic uncertainty. In fact, over the last five years, the Group has more than doubled its turnover to 132.6 million pounds.

“Last year was a tough year for retail businesses, but we weathered the impact to evidence record-breaking revenue growth for the business in these statutory accounts. We’ve now got our focus firmly set on the future as the year ahead is a significant one for us, with the launch of our first Seasalt stores in North America and continued expansion in our partner channels, at home and internationally. We have every confidence that we will realise our ambitious growth plans if not exceed expectations.”

Last November, Seasalt announced plans to open four new stores in the US during 2024, the first of which will be in the New England area. The British brand has ambitious plans to open up to 20 stores across the US over the next three years to build on its presence established through an online partnership with department store chain, Belk.