Joules boosted by international growth

British lifestyle brand Joules has reported a bumper performance as it reaches more customers overseas and launches new products.

Sales in the 52 weeks to May 26 rose 17.2% to £218 million, according to the group’s annual results.

This included especially strong international growth, with sales from outside the UK – primarily in the US and Germany – up by 43.5% to represent 16.1% of group revenue.

Meanwhile, profit before tax increased by 14.9% to £12.9 million

It comes at a time of change for the company, with longstanding chief executive Colin Porter set to retire at the end of this year and hand over to Asda executive Nick Jones.

Speaking to PA, Mr Porter said he was leaving the company in a strong position despite economic uncertainty putting pressure on consumer spending.

“These are difficult times in the macro environment and the customer sentiment in terms of uncertainty, but it’s times like this that we really focus on what we do,” he said.

“It’s really easy for the customer to engage with the brand. We don’t see that we should do anything different.”

The brand’s core shopper base grew during the period, with active customers up by 8% to 1.5 million.

The brand has also been boosted by expansion into new products, with the recent launch of Joules-branded dog accessories already showing signs of success.

The brand can also be found adorning toiletries, gifts, men’s formalwear and a now expanded sofa range with DFS.

Overall licensing revenue was up 147% to £1.8 million.

Mr Porter said there were more opportunities for the Joules brand in homeware, especially kitchen items, going forward.

New boss Mr Jones will join the company in early September for a two-month handover period.

Analysts at Liberum said that although he has “big shoes to fill”, he will lead a business in “very strong health”.

“His credentials ranging across Asda, especially George, should not only complement that of the design-led nature of Joules but enhance the commercial capabilities that Colin brought to the company but on a much larger scale, signalling to us the ambitions of the board,” they said.

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