Boohoo remains in fashion as sales surge

Sales at Boohoo grew strongly in the last four months of 2018, in another sign that people are choosing online shopping over the High Street.

The online fashion retailer, which also owns the PrettyLittleThing and Nastygal fashion labels, saw revenues in the four-month period jump 44% to £328.2m.

It revised its revenue growth forecast for the financial year to 43%-45%, up from a previous estimate of 38%-43%.

The company called the figures “another great set of results”.

In a statement, joint chief executives Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane said: “The global growth opportunity is significant and we will be addressing it in a controlled way – investing in our proposition, operations and infrastructure to capitalise on the opportunity.”

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Revenue from PrettyLittleThing nearly doubled, rising by 95% to £144.2m, while there was 74% growth in NastyGal’s revenue to £20.6m.

Julie Palmer, partner at business consultancy Begbies Traynor, said Boohoo’s results would “go some way to restoring calm” after the surprise pre-Christmas profit warning from rival online fashion retailer Asos.

She said: “Customers are basing their decisions on price, and Boohoo is very competitively placed to capitalise on this.

“Tie in the fact that overall footfall is down on the High Street and online sales continue to grow, Boohoo is entering 2019 in a very strong position.”

However, she warned: “According to our latest Red Flag Alert, the number of online retailers in financial distress increased to 8,500 in 2018. Being cut from a similar cloth to Asos, Boohoo must remain innovative and resilient if it is to stay in fashion.”

Investment bankers Liberum said the figures showed that Boohoo was continuing to “outperform”.