Superdry hails return to profits despite lower sales, upbeat for future after premium rebrand

Published



October 29, 2025

Superdry on Wednesday reported “a year of significant operational progress and strategic reset, delivering stronger margins, a return to profitability, and extensive restructuring as the brand continues to refocus on full-price trading and sustainable long-term growth”.

Superdry & Co

And CEO Julian Dunkerton said that “FY25 has been a transformative year for Superdry. We have taken the tough but necessary decisions to reset the business, rebuild our margins, and restore financial stability. Our focus on design, quality, and sustainability is beginning to resonate again with customers. While the retail environment remains uncertain, we are emerging leaner, more disciplined, and better positioned to grow profitably.”

So what does that mean in numbers? The company’s FY25 results — covering the year to late April — saw group revenue falling to £374.6 million from £488.6 million in FY24, despite Superdry’s upbeat stance.

That fall reflected “planned store closures, a disciplined approach to discounting, and a restructured wholesale network,” we’re told.

Importantly, despite those headline sales falling, the business delivered a gross margin of 58.2%, which was up 3.2pp, “supported by reduced markdown activity and a more profitable channel mix”.

And that’s the key to the company’s progress claim as it meant it achieved adjusted profit before tax of £33.8 million, a major swing from the £48.3 million loss of the previous year. This was driven by “over £130 million in SG&A savings, targeted cost reductions, and impairment reversals linked to lease modifications”. 

Adjusted profit after tax also delivered good news as it reached £33.3 million following a prior loss of £50.8 million.

Looking at the sales performance in more detail, store sales fell 22% to £175.2 million, following the brand closing loss-making stores and cutting promotional activity. And its online sales fell 25% to £109 million, also affected by that reduced promotional activity, “but delivering improved channel-level EBITDA through stronger marketing efficiency and logistics savings”.

Wholesale dropped 23% to £90.4 million as the company changed the structure of its wholesale business “with a key focus on profitable franchise stores, and the removal of the territories where the IP was sold in FY24”.

The company currently operates 133 owned stores across the UK, Europe and the US, as well as 158 franchise stores in 22 countries. And FY25 was an important year for the former London Stock Exchange-listed (until July 2024) business as it saw the full implementation of its court-sanctioned Restructuring Plan that had been launched in April 2024.

That plan was crucial for relieving pressure on the retailer as it involved rent reductions across 36 UK stores; the extension of debt facilities; a £10 million equity injection in June 2024 (with a further £4.3 million raised in September 2025 to strengthen liquidity); and the completion of 47 store closures and renegotiation of lease terms in the UK.

The year also involved a major rebrand to Superdry & Co, with a new logo and refreshed store formats. The company said that it saw “a return to the brand’s heritage, cleaner aesthetic, more premium positioning, and renewed focus on brand identity and controlled distribution”.

So now that the company is halfway through FY26, what has the new financial year yielded? 

Management “expects further operational benefits from its streamlined cost base and renewed focus on full-price trading”. Store like-for-like sales “are expected to improve as the impact of the Superdry & Co rebrand takes hold”. E-commerce growth should also return “as digital enhancements mature, while the Affiliation and Concession store models are set to support wholesale recovery”.

In the medium term, it’s expecting revenues between £350 million and £450 million with mid-to-high-single-digit EBITDA margins, “reflecting steady, sustainable profitability”.

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