Seasalt reports record Christmas sales

British clothing and lifestyle brand Seasalt, based in Cornwall, has reported a 10 percent rise in total sales for the five weeks to December 28, 2024, across online, stores, marketplace partners and wholesale.

In a statement, Seasalt said it had set “new records for the Christmas period” across every channel, led by a “particularly noteworthy performance” from third-party marketplaces both in the UK and internationally, including M&S, Next, Zalando and Nordstrom, which have all gone “from strength to strength in 2024”.

During the Christmas period, sales on these marketplaces increased 46 percent on the prior period, with the British retailer stating that they continue to “form a core part of Seasalt’s international expansion strategy,” as international markets accounted for 10 percent of total revenue during the period.

Online sales were also up 6 percent year-on-year while store revenue enjoyed a third consecutive record Christmas, with sales up 3 percent compared with the same period in 2023, which Seasalt said they were pleased with considering the decreases in high street footfall reported across the UK during the festive season.

Jon Lewis, chief trading officer at Seasalt Cornwall, said: “We are very pleased to see all of our main sales channels perform so well over the festive season, with healthy year-on-year growth across all three. During the Black Friday trading period, we reported our most successful day ever online.

“The big product category winner for us was knitwear, our customers were resoundingly positive about the collection and that was evidenced through very strong sales in the run up to Christmas. Our trading results reflect our customers’ reaction both to our full-price product ranges and our Black Friday and end-of-season sales promotions.”

International sales continue to boost Seasalt

Despite a challenging trading environment, Seasalt said it enjoyed strong revenue growth throughout 2024 and currently expects to achieve another year of double-digit percentage revenue growth for the year ending February 1, 2025.

Seasalt adds that growth year-to-date has been strong across all channels, both in the UK and internationally, with year-to-date international markets representing 12 percent of sales. This has been boosted by the opening of its first US store in Falmouth, Massachusetts last September as part of its plan to roll out 20 locations in the US in three years. In autumn 2024, Seasalt also embarked on a partnership with Nordstrom in the US, both online and in selected stores.

Paul Hayes, chief executive officer of Seasalt Cornwall, added: “Sales have been strong across the year and throughout the key festive trading weeks in 2024, building on our previous success, in spite of the current economic environment and decline in high street footfall seen across the UK.

“Here at Seasalt, like all retailers, we anticipate significant cost pressure in the upcoming months, particularly with the impact of the Chancellor’s Autumn budget statement, necessitating a heightened focus on cost management in order to drive profitable growth.

"We will also continue to progress our expansion strategy for 2025, including our store opening programme, both in the UK and the US, and develop our strategic partnerships, putting us in the best possible position to realise our growth ambitions for the year ahead.”