Sosandar in deal to sell through Sainsbury’s

Sosandar, the Cheshire-based online fashion brand, has agreed its latest third party deal, this time with supermarket giant, J Sainsbury.

The business, headed by joint chief executives Ali Hall and Julie Lavington, will sell a curated collection of its products through the retail chain.

The wholesale agreement means a selected range will begin to be sold through Sainsbury’s during 2023, initially online only, with selected stores planned later this year as Sainsbury’s increases its collaborations with fashion brands to provide customers with a broader selection of products. The initial product range will include best selling styles from Sosandar’s high performing collection and accessories.

The partnership, which includes the company’s first in-store presence, allows Sosandar to become a truly omnichannel retailer, further diversifying its route to market and increasing brand awareness across its target demographic, while driving growth sales and pre-tax profits.

This agreement adds to existing online partnerships that Sosandar has with John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, Next, The Very Group and JD Williams.

Sales to date from these partnerships have been extremely strong, with a record quarter delivered through third parties in the third quarter of fiscal year 2023.

Ali Hall and Julie Lavington said: “This new relationship comes off the back off a record period of trading with our existing third parties and is testament to the strength of our brand and product range as it continues to resonate with customers.

“To be one of Sainsbury’s key fashion partners is an incredibly proud moment for us. In line with our objective to provide our large but underserved demographic with more opportunities to purchase our unique and diverse products, this elevates our strategy from pureplay to an omnichannel brand.

“We believe that being an omnichannel business enhances our brand equity, will accelerate growth in our market share and brand awareness, whilst also providing us with a wider breadth of quality potential partners internationally.

“We are looking forward to working together and are excited to see a positive outcome for both our businesses.”

Two weeks ago Sosandar issued a trading update for the three months to December 31, 2022, that showed revenues hit £11.6m, up 30% year on year, and against £8.9m in the same quarter a year ago.

There was strong revenue growth across all sales channels, with a new record quarter for third party partners.

A fifth consecutive quarter of profitability for the group was also achieved.