// Sales rise 38% to £1 billion in the 12 months to the end of February at Matalan

// The retailer said its out-of-town stores with free parking remained “safe and appealing destinations for customers”

Sales passed the £1bn mark at Matalan and its losses were slashed during its latest financial year.

The Liverpool-headquartered fashion retailer revenue jumped 38% to just over £1bn for the 12 months to February 26, 2022, up from the £744.1m it achieved during the prior 12 months.

Pre-tax losses narrowed to just £7.7 million from £131.5 million a year earlier.

Despite this the retailer shed jobs, with its employee count down from 11,558 to 10,837 during the year.

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The retailer said that for the first 13 weeks of its current financial year, revenue rose from £221.8 million to £286.5 million.

Matalan executive chairman Steve Johnson said it had a “strong recovery” over the last year despite experiencing store closures, and supply chain disruption.

“Despite these obstacles, and assisted by the support packages provided by the government, we significantly improved our level of performance and profitability in what remain demanding circumstances for both our sector and consumers more broadly,” said Johnson.

“Throughout the last year, our large and spacious out-of-town stores with free parking remained safe and appealing destinations for customers, with the two newly opened stores also performing well.”

Matalan had significantly grown its online business throughout the pandemic, with ecommerce sales up 50%

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