Australian fashion-forward discount jeweller Lovisa recorded a stellar half-year result, on the back of its continued retail expansion and increases in most geographic regions.
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Brisbane-based Lovisa lifted its net profit for the six months to 31st December by 4.5% to $26.7 million, with global revenue jumping 22.2% to $162.8 million.
The retail chain attributed the increase to more store openings during the half-year, with another 21 stores in the U.S., ten in France, and four in the UK.
Less shiny, in comparison, were the company’s like-for-like sales, with second half comparable store sales down by 0.7%, from first half growth of 2.1 per cent.
“We are pleased with the momentum of the store rollout during the period which has again delivered us strong top line sales growth, and despite the investment required to deliver this growth we have also managed to deliver solid growth in profit,” said Shane Fallscheer, Lovisa’s founder and managing director.
The company largest market, Australia and New Zealand, which comprises of 188 stores, experienced revenue growth of 6.2% to $82.8 million, helped by strong online sales.
Lovisa South Africa, with 62 stores, saw revenues rise 15.9% to $20.5 million, but sales in Asia slipped 3.6% to $17.6 million, on store closures in Singapore.
Sales in the U.S., however, increased more than sevenfold to $12.27 million, while European sales in Europe jumped by two thirds to $28.51 million.
Founded in 2010 by Fallscheer and BB Retail Capital chairman Brett Blundy — the former owner of Diva stores — Lovisa retails across a number of international markets.
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The total Lovisa network across the world is now at 439 stores and self-operated stores can be found in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, the UK, Spain, the U.S., and France. In addition to self-operated stores, Lovisa has several franchises across Asia and the Middle East.