British lifestyle brand Joules has published its trading update covering the 13 weeks from 1 June 2020 to 30 August 2020 (the “Period”) to coincide with the Group’s AGM.

Despite the highly challenging trading backdrop, the Board is pleased with the Group’s performance during the Period. Group revenue performance during the Period was ahead of the Board’s expectations at £39.6m. Revenue from the Group’s own ecommerce channels also saw an increase of 63%.

Overall, however, Group revenue was down 18%. This reflects Joules’ stores – and those of many of its wholesale partners – not opening for the majority of the Period.

Retail revenue also declined by 5%. However, retail sales through the Group’s owned retail channels increased by 1.5%, supported by a strong product and promotional offer. The Group continued to deliver a strong performance online. Ecommerce revenue (including third parties) saw an increase of 45% against the prior year.

This performance reflects increased customer traffic to Joules’ websites and improved conversion rates. Plus, Friends of Joules – the Group’s digital marketplace – continues to perform well, with customers responding positively to the enhanced product offer.

The Group commenced the phased reopening of its store estate on 15 June, with all stores reopened by early August.

Since their reopening, the Group’s stores have performed well. Strong levels of customer conversion have supported a sales performance ahead of the Board’s expectations; just 10% lower than the comparable prior-year period.

The Group attributes this to the well-balanced geographic locations of its retail stores. Also, pent-up customer demand for Joules, as well as a strong promotional offer to help drive footfall. For the Period overall, including the impact of enforced store closures, retail store sales declined by 49%.

Wholesale sales were in line with the Board’s expectations; reduced by 59%, reflecting the anticipated slower recovery of the wholesale channel.

Joules had net cash of £8.5 million at the end of the Period.

This is significantly ahead of expectations and up from the year-end position of £4.5 million. The Group has liquidity headroom of £57 million and is therefore well-positioned to manage potentially challenging trading conditions going forward.

Group inventory of £38 million was 16% lower than the prior year. This reflects good sell-through of s/s 20 ranges. Plus, a more cautious buy for the early phases of a/w 20 stock.

Commenting on the update is Nick Jones, chief executive officer of Joules. “We are encouraged by the Group’s performance in the first quarter of the financial year, with sales ahead of our expectations. This is testament to the flexibility of the Joules model and the increasing strength, relevance and awareness of the Joules brand.

“The Group’s strong ecommerce performance demonstrates the appeal of Joules as well as our growing customer base. We continue to be very encouraged by the performance of our Friends of Joules digital marketplace. In addition, we have been pleased with the performance of our stores since re-opening with higher levels of conversion when compared to pre-lockdown and steadily improving footfall trends.

“As with all consumer-facing businesses, we face challenging trading conditions and unprecedented levels of uncertainty over the coming months and into the peak Christmas trading season. Against this backdrop, we remain cautious on the future trading outlook and will continue to tightly manage costs and conserve cash. Notwithstanding this, we remain confident that – underpinned by the strength and relevance of our brand – Joules remains well-positioned to continue to adapt to changing consumer behaviours.”