LONDON — Victoria Beckham Holdings, owner of the fashion label and beauty company, saw a modest decline in turnover and a narrowing of losses in fiscal 2020.
According to accounts filed this week at Companies House, the official register of U.K. businesses, turnover fell 6 percent to 36.1 million pounds in the 12 months to Dec. 31, 2020, while losses after taxes nearly halved to 8.6 million pounds from 16.6 million pounds.
The company said strong online sales and a full year of trading for Victoria Beckham Beauty helped to prop up overall sales, which declined due to the pandemic and a series of lockdowns worldwide.
The holding company has an 85 percent stake in Victoria Beckham Beauty, which delivered 7.3 million pounds in sales in its first full year of trading, up from 1.9 million pounds in 2019.
The company said “several successful beauty launches” in the year had helped to establish the brand as “the best in class in clean, luxury beauty and skin care.”
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Losses declined in 2020 due to the group’s “rapid response” to the effects of the pandemic, according to the Companies House statement.
The company said it controlled its cash and expenditure, which led to a 57 percent reduction in its operating losses to 6.8 million pounds. It added that cost efficiencies across the business and the recalibration of its business model will make the company “sustainable for the longer-term.”
Cost discipline and the successful implementation of a new business model resulted in a 22 percent reduction in the cost base year-over-year, the company said. The fashion business tightened costs linked to fabrics and samples, as well as freight costs. IT contracts were also reduced.
Gross margins rose to 61 percent from 58 percent, due to tighter supply chain management; revenue shifting toward fast-growing direct-to-consumer channels, and the implementation of the new business model.
No dividends were paid in fiscal 2020. Financial results for David Beckham’s business will be filed separately in the new year.
As reported, Victoria Beckham has consolidated her fashion offer under a single Victoria Beckham label.
Beckham and her chief executive officer Marie Leblanc de Reynies told WWD in an exclusive interview in June that under the new strategy, the Victoria Victoria Beckham and mainline collections had been blended, with a new average price point of around 550 pounds, compared with the 900 pounds of the old mainline collection.
The two said they had worked hard on sourcing, supply chain and manufacturing to ensure that the quality of the collection remained the same. The plan is to relaunch footwear and leather goods under the new brand and pricing structure, too.
This story was reported by WWD and originally appeared on WWD.com. Read the full story on WWD.com.
