Missguided steps out in export rankings
MANCHESTER-based online fashion retailer Missguided has ranked third nationally in a league table which lists Britain’s mid-market private companies with the fastest-growing international sales.
Missguided is joined by 26 other companies from the North West in the sixth annual Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200, published this weekend.
Founded in 2009 by Nitin Passi, the Manchester firm has expanded into America, Australia and France, and launched its first high-street concessions this year. International sales rose 190% pa to £20.4m in 2015, boosted by a partnership with pop diva Nicole Scherzinger.
The high-flying company started selling its clothing in US department store chain Nordstrom this year.
Missguided is one of eight Manchester-headquartered businesses on the table. Cheshire is also well-represented, with 11 firms including online retailer The Hut and pet food producer MPM Products, while Lancashire supplies seven companies, such as Hotter, whose Skelmersdale factory makes footwear for its 75 stores nationwide, as well as customers in America and Germany.
The region’s companies featuring in the table have been hailed for their ‘significant contribution’ to the regional economy over the last two years.
During this time they added 3,030 jobs and now employ a total of 11,090 people. Their international sales have grown by an average of 51% a year over two years to a total of £1.2bn, on combined sales of £2.5bn.
Combined with the northeast and Yorkshire, the fast-growing companies represent a ‘Northern Powerhouse’ that generates £5.2bn in total sales, £2.3bn in exports, employs 25,160 people, and accounts for almost a quarter of the league table (47 firms).
Amanda Murphy, UK head of corporate banking at HSBC, said: “The Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 is a great reflection of the value of building connections overseas. The world is getting smaller, and international business relationships are easier to build, providing ambitious businesses with many more opportunities to grow. I’m delighted to see so many great British mid-sized firms making such a strong impression on the world stage.”
The International Track 200 is sponsored by HSBC and compiled by Fast Track, the Oxford-based research and networking events company.
The full regional list is below:
