Sofology targets £300m in revenues as it expands UK footprint
Retailer Sofology has seen its sales boosted thanks to a high-profile advertising campaign featuring actress Helena Bonham-Carter.
The Warrington-headquartered company, which is now owned by DfS, expects to target revenues of around £300m at a pre-tax profit margin of 5-7% with plans to expand the brand from 55 to 65-70 outlets as part of its medium-term plans.
In the year to 26 June 2022, Sofology opened Seven new stores in Orpington, Glasgow, Poole, Ipswich, New Malden, Birmingham and Bristol with an additional store opened in September 2022 and one further store planned for FY23.
During the year Sofology recruited BAFTA and Golden Globe award winner Helena Bonham-Carter for its latest TV advertising campaign, entitled Bring Imagination to Life which took viewers through the quirks and stylistic flourishes of her apparently magical home.
Commenting on the high profile marketing campaign, Sofology said: “Our distinctive advertising builds on this differentiation, using well known actors who are equally celebrated for their own individual sense of style.
“This year Helena Bonham-Carter has played a key role in Sofology advertisements and her unique style and creativity has proved a strong fit for the Sofology brand.”
Sofology also launched its ‘Sustainable Edit’ collection which includes the ‘Spring-bond’ product designed exclusively for Sofology as a replacement for foam interiors.
New product launches include the Brantwood and Midland Hill ranges in collaboration with TV presenter George Clarke.
The plans for Sofology were revealed as stock market listed DfS announced its financial results for the year.
DFS said it has faced its “most operationally challenging year” following challenges around Covid-related supply issues, double digit cost inflation and skill shortages sending annual pre-tax profit falling by 44.8%.
The business posted underlying profits of £60.3m, down from last year’s £109.2m. Revenues grew 8.5% to £1.15bn, up from £1.06bn.
Sofology delivered sales and brand contribution growth of 18% and 16% compared with the pro-forma FY19 pre-pandemic comparators.
