Newly published accounts reveal the extent of losses at troubled department store Harvey Nichols.
Sales at the luxury retailer fell 5% to £204.9m in the year to 30 March 2024 as footfall slowed. Hampered by high interest rates and restructuring costs, losses surged to £34.1m, up from £21.1m the previous year, according to accounts published at Companies House this week.
While the retailer blamed “weak consumer confidence as a result of the cost of living crisis”, it’s the latest loss under the ownership of Hong Kong-based Dickson Concepts, which is battling to turn around the iconic fashion and hospitality group.
The losses had been expected after Harvey Nichols CEO Julia Goddard revealed unpublished figures to The Times last month. However, the accounts, which were published by parent company Broad Gain, offer more detail into the struggles at the department store, which hasn’t turned a profit since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Revenue at its seven stores across the UK and Ireland, standalone restaurant and online business fell to £193.9m in the year, from £204.6m.
It was hit with further one-off restructuring costs, which included cutting around 5% of its global workforce, of £3.2m.
The business was boosted however by the £5.2m sale of its former head office site in Chiswick, which has been on the market since 2022.
In a statement the retailer also blamed “the highest interest rates in 15 years” as well as the loss of tax-free shopping for tourists as adding to the loss.
Chairman Dickson Poon invested over £30m into the business over the financial year, and has signed off Goddard’s new “multi-million” three-year turnaround plan aimed at transforming the brand’s fortunes. It involves refurbishing its Knightsbridge flagship store, including expanding the hospitality offer on its fifth floor.
Goddard has also restructured the leadership team, including by reinstating the role of creative director, appointing Kate Phelan from Vogue. The restructure also saw executive food and hospitality director Lucy Menendez leave the business, just 19 months after she was appointed to lead an expansion of its food and drink efforts.
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