Harvey Nichols swung to the red in its last financial year, although its turnover was flat amid “considerable disruption” caused by a major refurbishment scheme.
The luxury department store made loss of £6.7 million before tax – and after charitable donations of £2.7 million – in the fiscal year ending April 1, compared to the previous year’s profit of £3 million after charitable donations of £1 million.
In that same period, the retailer achieved EBITDA before exceptionals of £7.3 million, a marked decline on the £12 million recorded the year prior.
However, Harvey Nichols said it maintained its top-line performance and turnover was flat on last year at £194 million.
The retailer attributed the results to its ongoing transformation progress, which included a major refurbishment of its iconic London flagship store in Knightsbridge.
The refurbishment saw the closure of a significant proportion of its ground floor as well as restricting the use of the store entrances, lifts and escalators for eight months of the year.
Harvey Nichols chief executive Stacey Cartwright said it was a “challenging year” for the business, but the “most demanding phase” of the Knightsbridge refurbishment was now complete.
Since re-opening, the new ground floor has experienced strong sales growth with Harvey Nichols saying its beauty offer was “significantly outperforming” the market rate of growth.
In addition, after the launch of its online Marketplace in February 2016, the department store now hosts almost 300 brands offering an extended inventory across womenswear, menswear, accessories, homewares and childrenswear.
Looking ahead, the transformation of the Knightsbridge flagship store will continue with the
refurbishment of the first floor, which houses womenswear international designers, contemporary collections and designer shoes. The work will commence in spring next year.
Harvey Nichols is also continuing to assess opportunities overseas and plans to open a store in Doha, Qatar in 2018, bringing its total international store count to eight.
In the UK, Harvey Nichols has six other store outside of London.
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