Expansion into clothing powers growth at Oliver Sweeney
The Oliver Sweeney men’s footwear brand has seen a near 20% uplift in revenues following its expansion into the clothing category.
In the year to 30 April 2024, turnover increased by 18.5% to £9.06 million as EBITDA rose by 16% to £654,000.
Meanwhile, pre-tax profit was 25% higher year-on-year at £583,000.
The expansion into clothing helped the business to attract almost 22,000 new customers and grow orders from existing shoppers by nearly 40%.
Tim Cooper (pictured), chief executive of Oliver Sweeney, said: “We have successfully expanded our range into clothing, which has proven highly complementary to our well established market position as a high quality, stylish footwear brand.
“Our range appeals to men who are fashion conscious, but want to purchase items that will be part of their wardrobes for many years.”
Cooper and the Oliver Sweeney management team have led a turnaround of the business after it was hit hard during the Covid pandemic. The company closed all of its own retail outlets and now sells online and in department stores such as John Lewis and House of Fraser.
Oliver Sweeney said it uses sophisticated analytics to target its marketing and is very strict on customer acquisition to ensure that every customer is profitable from first purchase.
Cooper added: “Now that we have established our growth methodology and our clothing offer, we can target international expansion. This is a very exciting time for the business and we are extremely confident about profitably growing in the future.”
