Boden has insisted its recovery is “well underway” despite revealing its losses last year had more than doubled.

The clothing and lifestyle retailer posted a loss of £9.4m in the year to December 2023, compared to the £3.9m in losses it racked up the year prior, Drapers reported.

Sales plunged 13% to £304.5m, dragged down by a sharp downturn in performance in the second half of 2022 that continued into 2023.

However, it stated that a recovery was “well underway” thanks to a rise in sales and profitability in the first half of 2024.

Boden said it reshuffled its leadership team and made changes to the product and marketing strategy in early 2023, but that those measures took time to flow through to stock, sales and profitability.

The retailer said performance stabilised in the second half of 2023 and its return to catalogue marketing and new season ranges targeted at existing customers saw a 19% boost in full-price womenswear sales year on year.

Sales are up 18% in the first half of 2024, driven by a 35% surge in womenswear performance. Dress sales jumped 47% rise.

Boden said reduced discounting helped lift gross margin by seven percentage points, which saw the business return to profitability during the first half.

Founder and creative director Johnnie Boden said: “I made a series of serious mistakes and felt like a fool.

“The brilliant team at Boden couldn’t have responded better, bringing Boden back to its very best. Long lead times in our industry always make the process of changing ranges annoyingly slow, which is reflected in last year’s accounts.

“But we’ve truly turned the supertanker now and are back on course. We are seeing some very encouraging improvements in sales and profitability in 2024. I would like to thank the team at Boden and our customers, old and new for their fantastic loyalty and support.”

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