Theo Fennell plans to expand overseas despite tough Xmas
THEO FENNELL, the eponymous founder of the luxury jewellery brand, said yesterday he remained focused on bringing the company back into the black this year after reporting a pre-tax loss of £1.21m.
While sales were up nine per cent in the first half of the year, the company said “a difficult Christmas” due to a squeeze in consumer spending had dragged sales down 11 per cent in the second half of the year.
Overall, turnover amounted to £12.5m in the year to 31 March, slightly down from last year.
The group said an in-depth restructuring of its cost base had helped reduce costs by £1m and it said it is on track to significantly reduce its losses at the half year.
The jeweller opened a store at Bond Street’s Burlington Arcade earlier this month and it will now focus on overseas growth, with plans to open stores with wholesale partners in Harvey Nichols in Kuwait and the Emporium department store in Baku, Azerbaijan.