JD Sports-owned Go Outdoors has filed its latest accounts and they show that the company returned to profit in the year to 1 February.
Go Outdoors
The company, which operates stores and websites under its own name as well as Go Outdoors Express, Taylor’s and Fishing Republic, said that it made a profit before tax this time of £9.7 million compared to a loss before tax of £1.5 million a year earlier.
That was despite the company’s turnover having fallen year on year by 1%, although that wasn’t quite such a problem as it sounded. The previous year had been 53 weeks so with the latest one being only 52 weeks, a 1% fall in its revenue actually looks quite good.
Revenue when taken as a 52-week comparison managed to rise year on year, driven by an increase in net space across the store estate. Store numbers actually rose to 126 from 99. And as well as opening new stores, it relocated another to make it the largest outdoor store in Europe. That store’s in York and last month the company said that a year on from its debut, this award-winning location had become the brand’s best-performing flagship while also acting as a hub for the people of York, hosting community events and product launches.
Back with those results, the company’s underlying gross margins were strong and were the main reason for the business’s return to profitability. They increased healthily to 45.7% from 41% due to the better management of inventory, while sea freight costs were much improved.
But not all of its figures were positive as it said it saw a contraction in online sales during the period. Although they’re above pre-pandemic levels, they’ve been partially offset by the positive sales performance within physical stores.
That said, overall the period saw strong demand for the company’s product range as consumers embraced the benefits of spending time outdoors.
A French consumer watchdog found that besides Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein, five other online platforms sold illicit products in France, a spokesperson for Commerce Minister Serge Papin said on Friday.
Temu
The watchdog, called DGCCRF, said AliExpress and Joom were selling child-like sex dolls, while weapons such as brass knuckles and machetes were available on Wish, Temu and eBay, the spokesperson said, confirming an article by Le Parisien newspaper.
DGCCRF found that Wish, Temu and U.S.-based Amazon, the largest e-commerce company by market value, failed to filter underage shoppers from adult content, he said.
The spokesperson said Papin referred the platforms to public prosecutors and would invite the European Union’s commerce ministers to Paris to discuss this issue.
Amazon, Temu, eBay, AliExpress and Joom did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
The broad French crackdown on large foreign e-commerce leaders is an attempt to protect local retailers who feel threatened by unfair competition from cheaper and better-marketed products on their own turf.
Papin used to lead supermarket chain Super U.
Similar EU initiatives include the decision on Thursday to bring forward by one year the customs duties on low-value parcels arriving in the bloc to crack down on cheap Chinese e-commerce imports.
Earlier this month, the French consumer watchdog sparked outrage against Shein when it said it had spotted child-like sex dolls, weapons such as machetes and knives, and other illicit products on the Chinese-owned marketplace. A public prosecutor then opened an investigation into Shein as well as Temu, AliExpress and Wish for different potential breaches of rules.
Following the furore over Shein’s marketplace, the French government started the process to block the platform in the country, with Finance Minister Roland Lescure threatening to entirely suspend the website in France if banned products continue to be found for sale.
A week ago, after acknowledging Shein had withdrawn all illicit products from its website, the government suspended the process to block Shein and said it was looking into other platforms it did not identify.
The Welcome on Board – Mode & International event will be held in Paris on November 20, a day entirely dedicated to assessing new export strategies for fashion brands. More than 250 participants are expected, among them brand founders, CEOs, and senior executives in charge of international expansion and exports, e-commerce and direct retail, as well as international fashion buyers.
DR
The event is organised jointly by various French industry associations and public bodies, like the Women’s Ready-to-wear Federation, Promas International, the Association of Apparel Producers, the Knitwear and Lingerie Federation, the Fashion and Haute Couture Federation, UFIMH, DEFI, the French Footwear Federation, CCT, Francéclat and Entreprises France. The programme includes conferences and workshops designed to help brands expand their international presence.
There will be sessions on the impact of geopolitics and market transformations on international trade, and on the expectations of international buyers. The line-up of speakers includes representatives of international names like Kirna Zabête (USA), Guffanti (Italy), Hankyu Hanshin (Japan) and Attica (Greece), alongside French experts like Michaël Azoulay, founder and CEO of American Vintage, Caroline Goiffon, managing director of Statement Paris, Louis-Gabriel Nouchi, designer at LGN, Claire Bismuth, COO of Coperni, Lisa Nakam, managing director of Jonak, and Mathieu Grodner, president of Simone Pérèle.
Workshops on customs and logistics, brand security in the digital age, finance and market opportunities will be held in the afternoon. Also under the spotlight, lean growth strategies, how to deploy sustainable international D2C strategies, and how to use AI and data analytics to improve global performance.
Welcome on Board will combine analysis of market data and the experiences of several brands with practical workshops, giving participants the tools to kickstart, consolidate or accelerate their international expansion within a constantly changing environment.
Over the first nine months of the year, the French leather industry recorded a 3% decline in exports to 13.7 billion euros, according to the Economic Observatory of Alliance France Cuir, which cites a drop in orders from Asia and the United States.
Shutterstock
The Observatory’s economic report notes a 7% fall in exports to Asia. This downturn affected China and Hong Kong (-5%), Japan (-8%), Singapore (-27%) and South Korea (-7%). Exports to the United States also contracted by 2%, while European demand strengthened by 0.7%.
By product, exports of raw hides and skins fell by 2%, and those from the tanning and dressing sector by 1%. The decline came to 3% in both the footwear and leather goods markets. However, the leather goods sector was the only one to end the period with growth in cumulative revenue across its companies (+3%).
Imports remained stable over the period, at 10.4 billion euros. The Observatory notes a 7% drop in orders placed in Europe, while supplies from Asia rose by 7%. This situation benefited Vietnam (+13%), Indonesia (+6%), India (+6%), Cambodia (+22%) and, to a lesser extent, China (+3%).
This shift in sourcing from Europe to Asia is pushing down the average prices recorded by customs, with declines of 3% for shoes and 13% for handbags.
By sector, increases in imports were seen in footwear (+2%) and in tanning and dressing (+4%). Imports of raw hides and skins fell by 6%, as did imports of leather goods. In this category, handbag production, all materials combined, is estimated to have fallen by 2.7%.