// In The Style sees sales rise by 45% year-on-year from April to August
// The retailer expects to see high freight costs and shipment disruptions to continue “at least” until the end of March
Fashion retailer In The Style has warned that its profitability will be hit by high shipping costs and increased returns from customers, amid disruptions to UK supply chains.
Shares in the company dipped more than 10 per cent after the profit warning, despite In The Style revealing a recent spike in sales.
In The Style, the online women’s fashion brand, saw its sales climb by 45 per cent year-on-year from April to August.
In addition, its ecommerce gross order value grew by nearly 50 per cent.
The business expects to see high freight costs and shipment disruptions to continue “at least” until the end of March, when its financial year comes to a close.
Customers have also been sending back an increasing number of products, the company said.
“Increased freight costs and disruption to the timing of shipments are expected to remain for at least the remainder of the current financial year,” it told shareholders.
In a trading update ahead of its AGM, the company said the performance was driven by increased brand awareness, more customers buying clothing for summer social events, and the continued expansion of its influencer collaboration model.
In The Style chief executive and founder Adam Frisby said: “We are pleased with the strong sales momentum achieved during the financial year to date. This momentum has been supported by increasing consumer awareness of In The Style and our clear brand mission to empower customers to be brave, embrace body confidence and, most of all, love themselves for who they are.
“Central to our growth is our differentiated influencer collaboration model that creates strong customer connections, drives efficient customer acquisition, and gives us exposure to a broad range of customers. During the period we continued to add exciting new influencer partnerships as well as launching a number of successful collections.”
In The Style also said its proprietary app continued to deliver strong levels of consumer engagement, with app sales growing to 62 per cent of total online sales compared to 53 per cent in the same period last year.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette’s free daily email newsletter
