Fred Perry (Holdings) has filed its accounts for last year and said that despite the challenges in the market, both sales and profits rose. 

The company owns and manages the Fred Perry, Lavenham, and George Cox brands as well as operating retail stores in the UK and selected international markets.

Turnover increased by 10% year on year to reach £154.1 million with revenue growth broadly seen across all of its revenue streams. It was strong in both retail and wholesale.

Gross profit rose to £78.5 million from £65.9 million with a gross margin percentage of 50.9%, up from 47% a year earlier. Profit before tax rose 11.5% to £18.4 million and profit after tax rose from £13.5 million in 2022 to £14.3 million last year.

It said that 2023 built on the success of 2022 and that continued growth in revenue put the group’s “trajectory back in line with pre-Covid expectations”. Alongside this, there was that strength in its gross margin.

This was partly driven by an improvement in freight costs that fell 73% throughout the year, as well as the sales mix with growth in its margin due to products such as the classic Fred Perry shirt.

As mentioned, the year had its challenges with the company citing continued unpredictability in cost increases due to the situation with the Russia-Ukraine war, rising inflation, and high interest rates on borrowing. These affected the costs of the company itself doing business, as well as the disposable income and confidence of its customers.

And while freight costs eased during the year, the company said this could be short-lived given the new uncertainty around the Suez Canal. This has already led to increased shipping times and higher costs due to ships being forced to change routes. 

But overall the company seems confident and continues to benefit from the appeal of the aforementioned classic Fred Perry shirt. “It all starts with the Fred Perry shirt” is one of its key mission statements and it said consumers will continue spending on things “they’re most passionate about and connect with them emotively”. The shirt has been one of these things since it was first created by the tennis great back in 1952.

Given how important it remains to the company it has been keeping the retail price of the product stable despite the inflationary issues. But while the shirt price hasn’t increased, the company has been very focused on selling it at full price and that was key to its margin improvement during the year.

As for the other brands, the company said Lavenham benefited from its ultimate parent company opening two new stores at the end of 2022 in Japan. Their performances were strong in 2023 and achieved the company’s targets.

Meanwhile, George Cox continued to focus on establishing and building its e-commerce revenue and saw “significant growth” last year. The company said it’s actively working on options to provide better margins for the brand alongside an improved revenue line.