Joe Browns has stellar year as turnover soars

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
May 4, 2023

The year to June 2022 was a good one for Joe Browns as the company saw turnover rising 20.9% to £47.3 million. Meanwhile profit was up 7.8% at £4.2 million and the company saw a good performance for key categories.

Womenswear rose, 18.4%, menswear was up 34.7% and the home  category — which was broadened with more products focused on gardens — rose 43.6%. 

The strong performance continued later in the year with the company, having earlier shared that it enjoyed a buoyant Christmas period. However, it hasn't updated on how trading is going during this year.

Looking back at the accounts for the year to mid-2022, the retailer said it was its “strongest year to date”, despite being “set against the well documented backdrop of external economic pressures”.

Peter Alecock, who joined during the period and is its first-ever CEO, said: “We are really pleased with both sales and profits. It’s testament to the amazing team we have here across every area of the business. We expect the external trading environment to remain challenging. Creating standout, remarkable product has always been central to the Joe Browns business and this ethos has never been more important than today.”

During the year in question, the company decided to dive deeper into physical stores and is now searching for sites for 10 stores across the UK. “Initial discussions on a number of locations [are] progressing well,” we’re told, with a separate franchise store (another first for the retailer) set to open in Bowness-on-Windemere, Cumbria in late spring.

It also said that its £2 million warehouse upgrade announced in January, has started with work being completed by July.

Other key developments include the firm’s Boutique brand, which has been trialled for two seasons, and now becomes a permanent fixture. It said the offer “combines unique statement pieces that ooze Joe Browns’ distinctive handwriting translated into richer textures and finishes with slightly higher prices points than the retailer’s core offer”. 

It includes items such as kimonos, biker jackets and embroidered jackets with prices going from £60 to £150 for a full-length coat. Over the trial period, the Boutique offer regularly placed in Joe Browns’ top 10 sellers list.