Koovs sees "green shoots" for H2 despite tough first half

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Dec 13, 2018

London-listed Indian fast fashion e-tailer Koovs may have secured the funding it needs to survive but its results for the half to September 30 still made tough reading.

Gross order value was down by 32% to INR442.8m/£4.8m as it was “significantly impacted by the reduction in marketing and stock.” That came about as, prior to it securing funding in September, marketing spend was reduced by 46% and stock levels by 49% to conserve cash.

Its trading margin decreased to 14% from 18% as full-price sales were impacted by the lack of new stock and revenue fell 40% to INR195.9m/£2.1m, due to that reduced gross order value and an increase in sales tax (GST).

But there were some other figures that fell that were much more positive with the firm saying operating expenses reduced by 28% to INR460.7m/£5m and the pre-tax loss fell by 10% to INR580.9m/£6.4m.

So have all of its fundraising activities fed through into better trading since then? in H2 the group has begun to rebuild stock levels and resume marketing activities, “delivering encouraging green shoots,” it said.

Chairman Lord Alli said fundraising had been its primary focus in H1 but it was still “able to maintain high brand awareness, increase customer engagement through our social media channels, and deliver market-leading customer satisfaction, demonstrating the resilience and strength of our brand.”

And CEO Mary Turner said the £45m of new investment "allows us to get back to business and in H2 to date we have restarted marketing activities and expanded the product range, increasing the current trading margin. Longer-term, the successful fundraising represents a transformational opportunity for Koovs to drive sustainable growth, enhance margins and build a path to profitability, with partners that will help us to consistently build our brand, enhance our supply chain, and grow our product range.”