New Look has filed its accounts for the year to the end of March and they show both challenges and progress. The company — or New Look Retailers Limited to give it its official name — is reportedly up for sale. So what condition would any buyer find it in?
Photo: Sandra Halliday
Bearing in mind that the latest year was the 52 weeks to late March 2025, rather than 53 weeks in the prior year, it saw a revenue fall that was about more than just the loss of an extra trading week.
The company said that total revenue dropped to £687.7 million from £735.4 million due to “store closures and tough trading conditions”.
The gross margin fell to 48.1% from 48.7% due to higher levels of discounting, the overall challenging market and unseasonal weather.
Meanwhile the company’s adjusted EBITDA fell to £18.47 million from £46.65 million due to that reduction in sales and the increased promotional activity.
The operating loss was £47.6 million after a profit of £17.4 million on the same basis is the year before. The statutory loss before tax widen to £77.2 million from a £3.6 million loss the previous year, partly due to those lower sales but also increased admin expenses. They included the cost of liquidation of the Irish business (which added up to more than £40 million) and increased staff costs. Finance expense was also higher for the business.
The net loss for the period was also £77.2 million after a £3.7 million loss in the prior year.
But the company got a £30 million cash injection from its shareholders to accelerate its digital transformation during the period.
Other upbeat news during the year was that the company remains a key part of the UK womenswear retail scene (it was number three overall for womenswear in the 18 to 44 age range both online and offline). It also maintained its number one market share position in women’s dresses, jeans and footwear.
And its total known customers grew by 15% to 10 million with its CRM customer base growing 32% to 4.5 million.
It ended the year with 337 stores compared to 356 in the previous period.
CEO Helen Connolly told FashionNetwork.com: “The past year has been about sharpening our focus and strengthening our existing foundations. We have made deliberate choices to simplify the business and invest where we know we can win – in digital, data and customer experience.
“Moving through the festive season, we are seeing encouraging signs of momentum, with strong customer loyalty and engagement, along with an expanding digital base. We remain focused on our goal to double digital orders from £500m to £1bn by 2030. There is still more to do, but our direction is clear and our strategy is working. We are entering this next phase with confidence, discipline and a strong understanding of what matters most to our customers.”
As her upbeat stance suggests, the company has been putting a number of growth initiatives in place since the financial year ended and only last month named a new retail director responsible for the store estate and for implementing its omnichannel strategy across stores “to drive sales and enhance the customer experience”.
It also recently launched its first-ever loyalty programme, Club New Look; added all its major suppliers to the TrusTrace global platform to standardise its supply chain traceability and compliance data management; and got that big cash injection. The £30 million will be spent on its data, AI and e-commerce platforms “to enhance [the] seamless, personalised shopping experience for its 10 million customers”. As well as doubling digital orders from to £1 billion by 2030, it wants to grab a 10% online market share by FY28.
