Watchfinder continues in the red as sales tick below £100m
Watchfinder continued to make a heavy loss during its latest financial year as its sales dipped below the £100m mark.
The London-headquartered business, which sells second-hand watches, has reported a pre-tax loss of £12.6m for the 12 months to 31 March 2024.
The figure comes after the firm also lost £12m in the prior year.
The last time Watchfinder reported a pre-tax profit was the £1.8m it generated in the year ending March 2022.
According to newly-filed accounts with Companies House, the firm’s turnover also fell from £101m to £93.2m in its latest financial year.
Watchfinder’s UK turnover dipped from £87m to £79.4m and from £6.2m to £3.6m in Europe.
However, it rose from £7.7m to £10.2m in the rest of the world.
Watchfinder overcomes ‘challenging year’
A statement signed off by the board said: “Despite a challenging trading year, we have maintained our position as the market leader for luxury pre-owned watch sales in the UK.
“The strong volatility of prices on the pre-owned watch market together with difficult economic environment in the UK has had an impact on the company’s trading results.
“For the coming year, the board of directors for the group will continue to elevate the brand positioning, enhance brand awareness and develop its presence further in key locations around the world and will look at continuing to expand the business in the UK through a combination of e-commerce and physical retail presence.”
Watchfinder was founded in 2002 and was acquired by Richemont in 2018.
Switzerland-based Richemont also owns the likes of Montblanc and Net-a-Porter.
Richemont’s UK division generated a revenue of £263.3m for the year to 31 March 2024, up from £232.4m.
Its pre-tax profit dipped from £11.6m to £10.2m over the same period.