Latest Results

Final Results

Continued strong momentum drives substantial revenue growth and a profitable second half

Sosandar PLC (AIM: SOS), one of the fastest growing fashion brands in the UK creating quality, trend-led products for women of all ages, is pleased to announce its financial results for the year ended 31 March 2022 and an update on trading for Q1 of the current financial year.

FY2022 Financial Highlights

• Revenue growth of 142% to £29.5m (FY2021: £12.2m), which included three consecutive months of record revenue in September, October and November 2021
• EBITDA improved significantly to a £0.2m loss (FY2021: £2.9m loss) with every month in H2 FY2022 being profitable
• Increase in gross margin to 56% (FY2021: 48%) reflecting a return to normal trading conditions following the impact of the covid pandemic on the prior year
• Net cash of £7.0m as at 31 March 2022 (FY2021: £3.9m) reflecting the equity fundraise in May 2021, subsequent investment in stock and the Group’s profitable second half

FY2022 Operational and Strategic Highlights

• The Company continues to deliver increasing levels of customer engagement on Sosandar.com with all KPIs increasing YoY:
  • Total orders increased 84% to 508k
  • Active customers increased 65% to 223k
  • Conversion Rate of 3.87%, up from 3.09% in FY2021, highlighting the effectiveness of the Company’s unique creative process and highly effective lifestyle imagery
  • Average order frequency increased by 10% to 2.28 times per annum, a reflection of how the distinct and diverse product range is attracting and retaining customers
• In-house design process driving continued expansion of the product range across all categories offering broader choice, with rapid sell through across all channels
• Trading with third party partners; M&S, Next and John Lewis, continued to be strong, with Sosandar product resonating very well across all types of product category
• Successful launch with The Very Group on a wholesale arrangement in March 2022 with positive early momentum

Post-period Trading Highlights

• Very strong start to Q1 FY2023 with revenue of £10.4m representing a record quarter and an increase of 81% against Q1 FY2022
• Trading in-line with market expectations* with strong performance on both own site and third-parties
• First three months of the current financial year continued to be profitable, resulting in nine consecutive months of profitability
• Product across all categories selling through rapidly with particularly strong sales of workwear, occasion wear and holiday clothes
• Cash at 30 June 2022 of £6.1m, reflecting further investment in inventory and continued strong trading

* Sosandar believes that market expectations for the year ending 31 March 2023 are currently revenue of £42.5 million, an EBITDA of £2.2 million and PBT of £1.9 million.

FY2022 KPIs (Own Site)

Ali Hall and Julie Lavington, Co-CEOs commented:

“We are incredibly proud to be reporting another period of sustained growth for Sosandar. It is thanks to our well-planned approach, together with our entrepreneurial, agile culture that we have delivered a significant increase in revenue, as well as moving into month-on-month profitability. This is an important milestone for us, and having achieved it we are now better positioned than ever for further success.

Notwithstanding the current macro-economic environment, trading in the new financial year has started very well, with a record quarter for sales and three further consecutive months of profitability. With the arrival of spring and summer, we have seen our customers seek out a wide variety of product, in particular smart clothes for work, bright colours for holidays and investment pieces such as leather.

Looking ahead, we are excited for the next stage of our growth.  Our winning formula is evident in our results and over the next year we will focus on expanding our product range and continuing to drive growth through our own site and third parties. Return rates are in line with our expectations across the product range and our costs continue to be carefully managed. We continue to expand and diversify our supplier base to support our growth expectations whilst further mitigating risk. As we have done over the past two years, we will continue to use our agility and detailed planning to manage the business effectively, as we move forward on our journey to becoming one of the largest womenswear brands globally.”

Presentations

Sosandar is hosting a webinar for analysts at 0900 hrs BST today. If you would like to register, please contact [email protected]

The Company is also hosting a webinar for retail investors at 1130 hrs BST today. If you would like to attend, please register here:  https://bit.ly/SOS_FY22_webinar

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

Introduction

It is incredibly pleasing to be able to present annual results which reflect another remarkable year of growth for the company, especially against a backdrop of heightened macro-economic and societal challenges. Revenue of £29.5m is 142% up year on year and our EBITDA loss of £0.2m is around 13 times smaller than the previous year. Our loss before tax improved to £0.6m (FY21 £3.1m loss) with every month in the second half of the year being profitable. These metrics provide great proof of our growing presence in our market.

It is testament to the quality of our products and the strength of our management team that we have been able to deliver such a strong performance despite the backdrop of macro-economic and societal challenges that we have all faced.  Mitigating risk has been at the heart of our operation since inception and while we could not claim to have foreseen all of these things coming, we typically build flexibility into everything we do. Fostering strong, long-term relations with a number of manufacturers in different territories, pivoting rapidly between transport methods and responding rapidly to changing consumer sentiment has meant that we have been able to navigate these headwinds and deliver a record performance.

Drivers of growth

As reported last year, in May 2021 we completed a raise of c. £5.8m (via an over-subscribed Placing, Subscription and Primary Bid offer). As planned, these funds enabled investment into our inventory, allowing us to buy both wider and deeper across our categories. The positive results of this strategy started to show in the autumn, and our sales continued to grow across the year as we put more stock into our third-party partners and offered greater range on our own site.

Our growing balance sheet strength reflects the effectiveness of this strategy, with net assets of £10.6m at year end being much healthier than at 31^st March 2021. Crucially, that figure included a cash position of £7.0m.

This continued success is down to many factors, but above all, it is down to our product. Led by our inspiring Co-CEOs, we have a growing, talented team who understand our customers inside out and design unique products with them in mind. Everything we do is centred upon delivering good-value, high quality, lasting clothes for women who care about being fashionable and chic. Our customers are not defined by age or any other demographic, rather they relish the stylish aesthetic and regularly refreshed range we offer.

Our team

Over the year, our team has been agile, responsive, and intelligent. As consumers have wrestled with going in and out of lockdown, returning to work, starting to go out socially again, and all against cost-of-living challenges, so our teams have altered our product mix and tailored all of our communications and offers to ensure highest relevance and maximum engagement. Our number of active customers has increased 65% year on year and is more loyal than ever, with repeat customers now shopping 4.0 times per year.

I do want to take a moment to reflect on the whole team at Sosandar, a business which is six years old, and was made up of just over 50 people at March 2022. They have adapted well to a rapid growth environment, dealt with a myriad of challenges and continually exhibited imaginative, enthusiastic, customer-focussed commitment. Sosandar is no longer a start-up, although it retains a few of those healthy facets, such as the ability to react quickly to changing circumstances. Sosandar is a business based on data and planning, with experienced people delivering great results for our customers. I therefore take this moment to recognise all our fantastic team’s hard work.

FY22 was the first full year of our third-party partnerships with Next, M&S and John Lewis. While the initial approach from all three was already testament to the appeal of our offering, it has been excellent to see sales grow substantially over time, and it has become clear that each sees Sosandar as a very important partner. Late in the year, we launched our first wholesale partnership with Very.co.uk, which has begun well, and we continue to consider further partnerships, both UK and overseas, in the future.

Committed to effective governance

The last couple of years have presented unprecedented governance challenges for all businesses. The Board of Sosandar has remained committed to maintaining and enhancing our corporate governance framework. Over the last two years we have met far more frequently, via a blend of video call and physical meetings and been effective as a result. We have an agile, balanced board, able to make decisions based upon robust assessment and evaluation, but always in a timely fashion. It was also a pleasure to welcome Jon Wragg as Non-executive Director in April 2022. His substantial experience in the fashion retail sector adds a valuable dimension to our Board.

Responsible business

Running our business with responsibility, in all its forms, remains important to us. This is an evolving challenge, and we look to constantly develop our actions in this area. There is more detail provided later in the report. However, key achievements in the year include beginning the roll-out of recycled packaging across our supply chain (formerly implemented only to consumer-facing packaging), increasing wages for Clipper staff working on Sosandar logistics, and engaging with a charity to support us and our customers in an increased recycling of garments. 

Outlook

The current financial year has started strongly and we are trading in line with our expectations for full year growth. As we are well practiced at, we will continue to manage the business carefully, building our partnerships and growing our existing customer base whilst remaining cognisant of the external environment.

Consumers are becoming ever more selective about where they spend and also more demanding of those brands with which they spend. We are confident that Sosandar will continue to benefit from this shift in behaviour as our fashion forward, high quality, responsible value proposition clearly differentiates us from the rest of the sector.

Bill Murray

Date: 11 July 2022

CO-CEO’S STATEMENT

A brilliant year 

FY22 has been a brilliant year for Sosandar. We have successfully grown sales by 142% year on year and, importantly, moved into profitability in the second half.  A result which is even more remarkable when set against a backdrop of pandemic restrictions as well as the challenges of a worldwide supply chain crisis and substantial inflation. All our KPIs are positive year-on-year, and the forward momentum which can be felt throughout the business gives us cause for great excitement. 

It is thanks to our well-planned approach, together with our entrepreneurial, agile culture, that we have improved both the top and bottom line in the period. Our business is underpinned by the continuous collection and analysis of multiple data points, which allows us to track exactly what trends are emerging and where we need to act. Given the current macro-environment, this approach is more important than ever.

As always, everything we achieved has been down to the hard work and creativity of our people and our partners. We take this opportunity to provide our heartfelt thanks.

A clear vision and purpose

Our vision is to become one of the largest womenswear brands globally. Our purpose is to empower women of all ages to feel good in the clothes they wear, catering to the burgeoning ‘ageless’ generation. 

There is a clear ongoing shift in the consumer mindset towards fashion; women are leaving behind dated ideas of what they must wear at what age, and instead embracing clothes that make them feel good, work in their everyday lives, and reflect their individual personalities. Our offering is ideally placed to cater to this trend.

While our products are trend-led, our clothes are designed to be kept and loved for years. This is why we invest so highly in quality and fit, reflected in our price point.

Our strategy and future objectives

Our strategy is central to the ongoing success and scale of our business and is spread over four pillars: product, marketing, sales channels, and supply chain.

1. Expanding our unique product  range

Our proven design, buying and merchandising capabilities make up the foundations of our product strategy. We maximise the frequency of best-sellers and ensure our customers receive new styles in line with the latest trends. All our products are sold at a mid-price point and are increasingly designed with sustainable materials – offering our customers on-trend, affordable, long lasting, lifestyle appropriate clothes with high fashion credibility.

Further expansion is paramount for FY23, increasing  the number of styles across all categories with specific fast track development of categories such as occasion wear, swim and beach, blazers and suits. To capture an even wider customer base we are developing new shapes and an expansion of length varieties to suit all heights.

2. Constant refinement of our data-driven marketing strategy
   

Since inception we have been constantly refining our marketing strategy based on data driven learnings. We use aspirational product imagery and content to connect and engage with our customers, building brand awareness through both our own e-commerce site and a variety of channels, including TV, glossy brochures, social media, PR and digital. Using these channels alongside our email marketing, which has industry leading open rates and contributes to over 50% of revenue at no cost, enables us to successfully attract and retain customers.  All of these materials are created by our in-house creative team who have a fantastic grasp on how women are feeling at that specific moment.

3. Driving sales through multiple channels

Our multi-channel sales strategy has two core pillars: our own e-commerce site and third-party partnerships. Sosandar.com is the anchor of our success, it is where our customers receive the most diverse choice and constant newness. In addition, we have established very strong relationships with strategically chosen third parties – all large retailers with whom we believed we could grow rapidly and this has proven to be true.
As part of our strategy, we will continue to invest in our own site, the bedrock of the Sosandar lifestyle hub whilst also exploring additional third-party partnerships in the UK and abroad.

4. An agile, resilient supply chain

The importance of a diversified, flexible supply base and having partners with expertise in this area, has always been at the heart of our operation. We are an agile, online-only business, allowing us to continually adjust our product offering, warehousing and fulfilment operations in line with the ever-changing needs of our customers. Fostering strong, long-term relations with a number of manufacturers in different territories and pivoting rapidly between transport methods has been the key to our success and is vital to achieving our desired scale.

Record financial performance

We have delivered a very strong revenue performance over the year, with sales up 142% year on year to £29.5m. This was driven by a greater number of active customers and more frequent purchases. A small uptick in average order value also contributed. While we did benefit from a broader range of products being available than in FY21 (49% more new styles in total), our ability to buy deeper and therefore satisfy more customers has also been crucial. As previously communicated, we maintained a relatively low (but highly cost-effective) marketing spend as a proportion of revenues.

With the increase in sales and a continued monitor on costs, we were able to steadily reduce our losses over the first half and were delighted to report profitable monthly trading from October 2021 onwards. Overall, in the year this led to an EBTIDA loss of £0.2m (FY21: £2.9m). Our loss before tax was £0.6m, reflecting a one-off change in accounting treatment in relation to website costs.

Our net cash balance as at 31 March was £7.0m (FY21: £3.9m), which will allow us invest further into FY23.

In-house design led product range continues to attract and retain new customers

The product range that we have created is what truly sets Sosandar apart. Our sexy and chic clothing, made with quality materials and well-designed fit, continues to resonate with fashion forward women. Our in-house design process ensures that our clothes are long-lasting and can be worn for many occasions.

The success of our distinct, flattering styles with bold colours and prints can be seen by the momentum we saw across our KPIs. Total orders increased by 84% to 508,473, repeat orders increased 93% to 366,848, whilst our conversion rate increased to 3.9% from 3.1% and our average order frequency increased by 10% to 2.28 times per annum. This data provides further evidence that we have an ever increasing and loyal customer base.

We believe that we are currently experiencing a widespread cultural shift in how women dress, as they feel confident in their ability to stay at the forefront of fashion no matter what their age. Creating product in line with this shift is very important for our design teams.

Third Party arrangements go from strength to strength

Third party partnerships have become an important part of our ongoing strategy. Trading with our longstanding partners, John Lewis, M&S and Next, has continued to be very strong, with Sosandar product resonating very well across all types of product category. We increased the amount of stock allocated to each partner and this has enabled us to meet the demand that is being generated through these channels.

At the time of our Half Year results announcement, we highlighted that we were exploring new opportunities with other partners where there was a strong strategic fit with the Sosandar brand. So, we were delighted to extend our relationship with Next PLC in the second half, with Sosandar products being sold through Next's 'Platform Plus'.

'Platform Plus' allows Next customers to order items picked from Sosandar's warehouse hosted by Clipper, which are then delivered via Next's distribution network. We launched with Next Platform Plus towards the end of Q1 FY23, and are excited to be sharing even more of our product range with Next’s customer.

In addition, following an approach by The Very Group, we were pleased to commence a wholesale agreement in March 2022 and immediately saw strong sales and quick repeat orders being placed.

The arrangements with the third parties further increase the brand's reach amongst its core target demographic and are delivering incremental revenue and profitability. We are confident that significant opportunities for further growth remain with each of our current third parties and continue to consider additional opportunities with a good strategic fit.

Infrastructure in place to scale

To ensure that we remain at the forefront of fashion innovation and remain agile and entrepreneurial, we are constantly evolving our infrastructure and capabilities.

We were delighted to take on more office space in April 2022.   This has doubled our space which will provide a positive working environment for our team, allowing us to further attract and retain great people to drive our business in the future.

We have built an incredibly strong team across the whole business with an experienced layer of senior staff leading each department.   We have continued to add strength in depth across all departments during the year and continue to be well supported by our external partners.

A confident outlook

To deliver six consecutive months of profitability alongside strong revenue growth shows the trajectory that Sosandar is on. It is evident that our product range is unique and desirable for fashion forward women.

This strong performance has continued into the new financial year. Every month in the new financial year has been profitable and we have seen strong sales of workwear, occasion wear and holiday clothes.

Whilst we are trading well and have not had any material disruption to date, we remain vigilant to the external challenges including inflationary pressures on consumer spending and believe our agile approach and understanding of our customers positions us well.

We believe Sosandar is well on the road to becoming a substantial business and has the infrastructure in place to scale as we continue to grow our customer base.

Ali Hall & Julie Lavington

Date: 11 July 2022

FINANCIAL REVIEW

KPI’s

* Active customers is the number of individual customers who purchased from Sosandar.com in the last 12 months

** Average Order Frequency is the total number of orders in the last 12 months divided by the number of active customers

The Group has delivered a significant step up in its financial performance, underpinned by continued momentum across all KPI’s, resulting in strong growth in revenue and a substantial reduction in  losses.    The second half of FY2022 was a milestone period with every month profitable which demonstrates the trajectory that the Group is on with the foundations laid to be profitable in FY2023.

The performance is even more pleasing given the challenges in the external environment which have affected all businesses in our sector.   Our agility and underlying approach to spreading risk across our business has enabled us to thrive in spite of these challenges including supply chain disruption and inflationary pressures.   

The fund raise (£5.8m gross proceeds) in May 2021 enabled the business to invest in greater levels of stock from the autumn which was executed to plan, enabling us to meet the clear and growing consumer demand for Sosandar product, both on Sosandar.com and through each of the third party partners.

Revenue up +142% to £29.5m

The substantial growth in revenue reflects the ever-growing demand for Sosandar product with incredibly strong performance from both Sosandar.com and through third-party web platforms.  

Revenue in the first half of FY 2022 was equal to the entirety of the prior year with growth being sustained into the second half.    The year included a series of new records being broken for the business including three consecutive record months for revenue in September, October and then again in November.  In addition, there were multiple records per day and per week as well as new records for the number of orders and items throughout the second half of the year.

Gross Margin +800bps to 56%

Gross Margin improved significantly compared with the prior year which reflected a more normal year, being much less impacted by the covid pandemic.   

As the scale of the business has increased, there are opportunities which result in incremental benefit to the gross margin.  In FY2022, this has included ordering much larger quantities of stock including being able to forward book capacity in factories which enables some prices to be agreed for the season knowing that larger volumes will be required.   

In addition, there has been an increase in the use of alternative freight methods where applicable and where there was a high level of confidence that stock will arrive on time.  During the year, a larger proportion of stock has arrived using rail, road and sea which are at reduced cost compared with air resulting in gains to the gross margin.   The proportion of non-air methods will continue to increase whilst balancing the need for margin, on time delivery, cash flow and environmental impact.

The margin in the prior year resulted from a much higher proportion of promotional activity to ensure that inventory sold through, in particular during periods of lockdown.  This has not been repeated in FY2022 as the impact of Covid was much less severe and consumers were gradually able to return to some sort of normality including going back to work, going out and taking holidays.

Administrative Expenses

Total administrative expenses increased by 89% to £16.5m (FY 2021 £8.7m) compared to a 142% increase in revenue.    As a result, administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue reduced to 56% (FY2021 72%) reflecting the benefit of scale whilst continuing to invest in all areas of the business to drive sustained growth in revenue and all KPI’s.

In terms of marketing activity, FY2022 was a normal year in terms of sustaining customer acquisition activity across the whole year, with spending focused on the months where the return on investment was greatest.   Spend on marketing increased by 43% year on year with the cost of acquisition remaining at half the level it was pre-pandemic which enabled the cost-effective recruitment of new customers to the brand.

The cost of fulfilment which includes warehousing and customer order delivery costs increased by 96% during the year.   Despite there being industry wide wage inflation in the logistics sector, our partner, Clipper Logistics, has done an excellent job managing the situation with minimal disruption to Sosandar.   Its retention of staff has been excellent, and it has successfully recruited new staff to support the revenue growth whilst reducing the cost per unit as result of ongoing productivity initiatives in the warehouse.    These initiatives are ongoing with further opportunities to maintain or reduce the CPU further in FY2023.

By far the largest increase in administrative expenses is from third party commissions (increased by 779%) given the substantial increase in revenue from a relatively low base in the prior year.  The commission is retained by John Lewis, Next or Marks & Spencer and is reported within overheads covering all costs of the operation including warehousing and fulfilment, returns handling, marketing and other operational costs. The revenue and gross profit figures are therefore undiluted when compared with trading through Sosandar.com

Amortisation increased in FY2022 reflecting the reduction in term to fully amortise website costs.   These are now fully amortised with zero carry forward balance.

Statement of Financial Position

The statement of financial position is robust.  As at 31 March 2022, the Group had net assets of £10.6m (FY2021 £5.0m) and a net current asset position of £10.5m (FY 2021 £4.6m).

During FY2022, the financial position was strengthened following a fund-raise of £5.8m gross which enabled the Group to further accelerate the growth through greater investment in inventory to meet ever-increasing consumer demand.   As at 31 March 2022 the cash balance was £7.0m (FY2021 £3.9m).

The movements in the statement of financial position reflects the investment in the business throughout the year, with an increase in inventory to £7.3m (FY2021 £2.9m).   This includes stock on hand, stock in transit reflecting the higher proportion of supply coming to the UK via sea and road as well as an increase in the right to return asset which covers post year end returns.

Trade and other payables increased to £6.8m (FY2021 £2.9m) reflecting the step change in scale through FY2022.   Creditor payment days have continued to move favourably as the Group has become a more important and trusted customer for our supply partners.   Contract liabilities increased to £2.0m (FY2021 £0.7m) which is as expected and reflects the growth in provision required for post year end refunds for orders fulfilled within the year reflecting the significant year on year increase in revenue.

Cashflow

The Group had a net cash position as at 31 March 2022 of £7.0m (FY2021 £3.9m). As highlighted already, the Group’s cash position was strengthened with the fund raise in May 2021 with the proceeds being utilised to:

• capitalise on the growth opportunity with its third party retail partners by investing in a greater amount of stock from the Autumn / Winter 2021 season onwards.  This included increasing both the number of styles and the number of units per style to be sold through the third party partner websites;
• provide additional funding to engage with other third party partners in the UK and internationally; and
• provide additional working capital and further balance sheet flexibility to support other incremental growth initiatives.

The plan for the Autumn / Winter 2021 season was executed as envisaged, with further investment made ahead of the Spring / Summer 2022 season, resulting in £4.4m increase in inventory during the year.

The Group is in a strong position, with sufficient working capital to take advantage of opportunities in FY2023.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME AND OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION AS AT 31 MARCH 2022

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Share capital is the amount subscribed for shares at nominal value.

Share premium represents the excess of the amount subscribed for share capital over the nominal value of those shares net of share issue expenses.

Share based payments reserve relate to the charge for share-based payments in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standard 2.

Retained earnings represent the cumulative loss of the Group attributable to equity shareholders.

Reverse acquisition reserve relates to the effect on equity of the reverse acquisition of Thread 35 Limited.

Capital redemption reserve represents the aggregate nominal value of all the deferred shares repurchased and cancelled by the Company. The reserve is non-distributable.

COMPANY STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

In accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006, the Company has not presented a statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income. The Company's loss for the year was £5,360k (2021: £18,851k loss).

COMPANY STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

COMPANY STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022