Mountain Warehouse posts jump in sales and profit
Outdoor retailer Mountain Warehouse saw its first half sales jump by 19.3% to £91.6 million after achieving a 50% uplift in international revenues.
In the six months to 27 August, pre-tax profit rose by 18% to £4.7 million as the company continued to expand by opening 18 new stores.
Store openings in the UK included Crewe, Lyme Regis and Gosforth while international openings included Krakow and Poznan in Poland, Winnipeg in Canada and Limerick in Ireland. Mountain Warehouse now operates 70 outlets overseas and is looking to enter Holland and the Czech Republic next year.
During the period, online sales increased by 18.5%. In addition to the UK, the company has dedicated country-specific websites now trading in Australia, Canada, the US, Germany, Poland and France
The company said it is benefiting from the growing popularity of ‘athleisure’ and the success of its ‘sporty sister brand’ Zakti. Launched two years ago, the brand is now being rolled out to Mountain Warehouse stores across the UK.
Mark Neale, Mountain Warehouse’s founder and chief executive, said: “We are investing in new stores, expanding our online offer and exploring new territories. We have also taken the decision to extend roll out our popular Zakti brand to stores across the country. We believe this will help widen our appeal still further and reach new customers. Finally, we are also gearing up for Black Friday which we expect to be incredibly busy and fire the starting gun for the run-up to Christmas.”
