Dune slips into the red despite international expansion

3 weeks ago 3

Turnover at the company remained flat at £141.9m, compared with £141.5m in the previous year. Gross profit dipped to £68.2m from £69m, while EBITDA more than halved to £4.9m from £10.9m.

The company said its performance was driven by a challenging and unpredictable trading environment in which the impact of the rising cost of
living, unseasonal weather patterns and geopolitical instability "affected demand for fashion footwear and accessories".

During the period the group improved Dune London's ecommerce platform, and opened new stores and concessions with its franchise partners in the Middle East, Australia and Nigeria. It has also continued its expansion in North American in both concessions and online through wholesale and dropship models.

The retailer closed the period with 150 stores and 162 concessions across its global markets, compared with 144 stores and 157 concessions in 2023.

Despite the challenging environment, the company said there is an opportunity to continue to grow the Dune London brand and improve profitability through new marketplace and wholesale partnerships, as well as investment in its ecommerce platform and UK store estate.

The retailer added that early autumn/winter sales were "encouraging", and there was strong demand for boots and bags. It remained "cautiously optimistic" for trading through the rest of the year despite the ongoing soft consumer backdrop and economic uncertainty.

CEO Nigel Darwin said: "The global retail and consumer backdrop has been soft and inflationary pressures during the period were high. We are working through a transition period where our profitability is below the level we expect for the business in the future.

"We continue to focus with clear intent on positioning the Dune brand to take advantage of the significant growth opportunities ahead – including investing in new markets, infrastructure, and the Dune London brand – while in parallel our teams work hard to drive efficiencies and control costs."

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