Sweaty Betty has good year with digital outperforming

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Oct 13, 2022

Sweaty Betty has filed its results for last year at Companies House and said that it had a strong 12 months with turnover rising by 45% compared to 2020, mainly as a result of the strong trading performance across its digital channels. 

That said, its physical shops during the year continued to be impacted by pandemic measures and were closed from January to April due to an official lockdown. But digital came to the rescue and continued to deliver during that period.

So what did that mean in terms of numbers? Turnover rose to £183.2 million from £126.5 million and gross profit was up to £94.5 million from £70.1 million. 

Last year, 67% of the company’s revenue came from the UK, which was down from 70% in 2020. And 21% of revenue came from the US, down from 22%, while 12% came from the rest of the world, up from 8%.

Profit on an EBITDA basis was £17.6 million, up from £15.8 million a year earlier. Net profit rose marginally to £11.47 million from £11.03 million.

It also said that its 2021 results reflected government support in the form of furlough payments, as well as business rates relief and the impact of rent concessions agreed with its landlords. However these were offset somewhat by additional costs incurred to implement safety processes in its stores, offices and warehouse.

The premium activewear company was bought during the year by US giant Wolverine Worldwide for over £294 million. The acquisition came after the London-based business proved to be a winner from the athleisure trend.