Online retailer Sosandar reveals where it is opening its first physical stores

Online fashion brand Sosandar has revealed the locations of its first physical stores as it prepares to transition into a “true multichannel retailer”.

The Wilmslow-headquartered company, which has been selling womenswear online since it was founded in 2016, will open its first two stores in Marlow and Chelmsford by September 2024.

The Marlow store is on Marlow High Street and the Chelmsford store is in the heart of Chelmsford, on Bond Street, with Sosandar saying both locations were “highly sought after” and “located in the right position in affluent locations” to reach it target consumer.

Sosandar, which is London-listed, said that other prospective stores were at a late stage of negotiation with a broader set of store locations identified for roll-out over the medium term.

The announcement of the retailer’s first store locations came as it revealed its revenue had grown by nine per cent to £46.3m in the 12 months ending March 30, 2024, up from £42.5m in the year before.

The company also improved its gross margin to 57.6 per cent during the 12 months from 56.2 per cent in its previous financial year.

The retailer’s loss for the year decreased to £300,000 following an upswing in the second half of its financial year when its pre-tax profit hit £1m.

Ali Hall and Julie Lavington, Sosandar Co-CEOs said: “We have delivered a robust financial performance for FY24, delivering a profitable second half, accelerating revenue growth whilst at the same time growing our margin and generating cash.

“This performance has been achieved against one of the most challenging backdrops our industry has experienced and is a testament to how our customers feel about our on-trend, affordable, long lasting, lifestyle appropriate clothes.   

“The transition to becoming a true multi-channel retailer, with our products being sold on our own site, our mobile app, through our own stores and via highly reputable third-party partners, is well underway.

“To meet our strategic goal of delivering a pre-tax profit margin of at least 10% in the medium term and £100m+ revenues, we have refined our focus and built a roadmap that will shape our decision making over the coming years.

“The core ingredients to this include prioritising margin and sustainable profitable growth rather than revenue growth through promotional activity. In doing so, we will leverage our brand equity, creating our own marketing ecosystem through our stores which will enable us to own our customers directly.

“Looking ahead, FY25 is focused primarily on delivering sustainable growth in our gross margin, pre-tax profit, cash generation and maintaining a strong balance sheet.

“Nonetheless, we do expect revenue growth from on our own site, further third party partnerships, opening shops and the compounding positive effect that the shops will have across all our channels.

“We believe that the future is very bright as we take the Sosandar brand to more customers across the UK and worldwide, as we move forward towards reaching our strategic goal in the medium term.”