Hush struggles in past year as sales and profits fall

Hush Homewear, the women’s fashion and lifestyle brand, reported its results for the year to the end of March and said that while its performance was below its initial expectations, with sales revenue of just £62m, It was in tune with the trends in the retail sector in general.

The company, which sells mainly through its own website but also through concessions, said it was a difficult year with falling demand and rising costs linked to both the cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine.

It was forced into “wider use of discounts in line with competitor behavior to generate demand”, which led to a reduction in its margin and subsequently gross profit margin decreased by 20% compared to the year former.

But despite the challenging period, it has continued to invest in marketing, as well as sustainability initiatives and its people with an eye on future growth both in its domestic UK market and beyond. In support of this strategy, its customer database grew by a further 17%, partly as a direct result of the marketing activity undertaken, including targeted investment in its digital channels.

However, it cannot be denied that they were a very difficult 12 months for the company. Revenue the previous year had been almost £68m and gross profit was £28.3m then, falling this time to £22.7m. The problems during the year also meant that operating profit and pre-tax profit plummeted by 84%, falling from £8.5m to £1.4m. The company’s net profit figure fell from £7.4 million a year ago, and this time it also reached £1.4 million.

Late last year, during the period in question, the company appointed Feelunique’s Sarah Miles as its new CEO, effective January 16 this year.

She replaced Kate Bartman when she returned to her previous role as commercial director.

It also named Melissa Dick as its new creative director in February. She joined from Tapestry’s Coach brand, where she spent five years and was VP Global Head of Creative Strategy & Studio.