Lingerie specialist Ann Summers has filed its accounts for the 12 months to the end of June last year and said that the 2023/24 financial year for the Ann Summers and Knickerbox brand owner was a “challenging yet transformative period” for the group.

Despite facing “significant external pressure, we have made strategic decisions to position our business for future growth and resilience,” it added.

Turnover for the full year was £93 million, which was down from £104.5 million in the previous financial year. It saw an adjusted EBITDA loss of £5.7 million. The pre-tax and net loss for the period were both over £13 million compared to a deficit of £3.8 million a year earlier.

However, it took decisive actions to control costs and improve its gross margin and it delivered a margin rate of 62.6% compared to 59.1% in the previous year.

CEO Maria Hollins said that trade was “notably impacted by the ongoing economic challenges, including inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, coupled with a tumultuous political landscape, which affected consumer confidence and discretionary spending in a challenging trading climate”.

It was therefore “essential to maintain focus on profitability” and so it continued to invest in its retail store estate, upgrading 16 of its stores, reopening one and closing six where leases had come to a natural end. This meant additional expenses during the year.

The company also said that its online sales remained stable, “despite challenges advertising online due to Google safe search restrictions and Meta blocking issues”.

It added that its direct selling channel underwent a significant transformation with a new commission plan which, while reducing in size, maintained profitability.

And it hailed one of its standout successes of the year, specifically its third-party partnerships, particularly with ASOS Marketplace, which saw “significant growth”.

It now operates with a hybrid of wholesale and direct fulfilment. This dual model approach allowed it to maximise probability and meet customer demand more effectively.

It also said that it has continued to invest in growth projects including launching its brand-new website knickerbox.com, which helps overcome its limitations from Google safe search.