Beaverbooks profits shine after cost cuts
FAMILY-owned jewellery retailer Beaverbrooks grew profits from £177,000 to £3.7m, despite a slight fall in sales from £82m to £81.1m.
The Lancashire company, consistently ranked as one of the country’s best firms to work for – owns 65 stores. It was founded in 1919 by brothers Isaac, Harry and Maurice Adlestone.
After a sharp fall in profits in 2009, the St Annes-on-Sea firm bounced back as cost cutting measures which included a pay freeze and cutting spending on shop refits, paid off in the year to the end of February.
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The accounts reveal that management remuneration fell from £5.3m in 2009 to just over £3m,.
Managing director Mark Adlestone told TheBusinessDesk.com: “It was a tough year last year and the story is that the cost savings we made helped us to increase profitability.
“The current year is so far much better, we are keeping a close eye on costs though, but this year hopefully we can reverse the fall in turnover.”
Mr Adlestone said the consumer environment was challenging, and the outlook for 2011 quite uncertain. Sales of luxury watch brands such as Breitling, Omega and TAG Heuer, had proved to be really strong, while gold sales are down due to price hikes, which has meant an upsurge in popularity for silver jewellery,
Mirroring retail trends, which reveal strong online growth, Mr Adlestone said Beaverbrooks’ new website is performing very well.
“We see online as a big opportunity – we’ve relaunched the website and it’s developing all the time and we’re expecting to see increased online sales – this year we’re up 41%, and there’s more potential.”
In terms of physical stores, one shop in Ashton Under Lyne was closed in the year, while selling space at the Trafford Centre has been expanded after an adjacent premises, formerly occupied by Birthdays was acquired.
Also at the Trafford Centre, Beaverbrooks is operating an exclusive Omega boutique for the luxury watch-maker – one of just five such outlets in the country.
Looking ahead, Mr Adlestone said: “We’re feeling much better this year than this time last year, but looking forward for the financial year 2011-12 – the outlook is uncertain.
” We are strong though, asset rich and cash generative and confident we can grow our market share, even if the overall pie is smaller.”
