Revenues soar by 228% at online fashion firm

A fashion firm set up by two former journalists has seen its revenues soar by 228% in the last 12 months.

The online business is aimed at professional women looking for quality clothing.

The Cheshire business was launched by Julie Lavington and Ali Hall – the founders of the fashion magazine Look.

The clothes sold by AIM listed Sosandar have already been by worn by high profile actresses, TV presenters, sports stars and social media influencers.

The company said it expects to report very strong revenue growth of 228% to £4.44m, comfortably in line with market expectations.

There has been a continued expansion of its loyal customer base and repeat orders increased 389% to 55,828.

The number of orders increased 224% to 102,742 and new customers were up 131% to 46,914.

The average order value increased 10% to £103.19

A trading update said Sosandar has continued to trade strongly in the fourth quarter with the emphasis on full price sales and the loss for the year is expected to be in line with market expectations.

The founders of Sosandar

Marketing funds have been strategically re-invested into the peak seasonal months of April to June to maximise the return on investment and sales, whilst also delivering bottom line efficiencies.

Sosandar is in a strong position to continue its growth momentum going into the new financial year.

The company has made substantial financial and operational progress during the year, driven by both a popular and growing product range and the continued success of its content and data driven marketing strategy.

Ali Hall and Julie Lavington, joint chief executives, said: “We are delighted to be reporting a year of substantial growth across all our key metrics including revenue, orders and new customers.

“This has been reflected in market expectations which have been upgraded twice during the year and we have now built a strong foundation on which Sosandar can continue to grow as a brand, providing our underserved market with quality, affordable clothing.

“Over the year, we have been focused on both growing our loyal customer base, underpinned by the continued delivery of high-quality clothing, and increasing the efficiency of our spend.

“Through increasingly sophisticated methods, we have managed to retain a high level of sell-through, alongside good ongoing full price sales, and significantly increased the efficiency of marketing costs.

“We are incredibly excited by Sosandar’s long term prospects and look forward to the new financial year with confidence.”