FASHION RETAIL group Arcadia saw sales at its Irish stores slip 5 per cent over the year to the end of August 2009 but said its younger brands, including Topshop, were proving “resilient” to the recession.
The group, which is owned by British retail tycoon Philip Green, secured turnover of £68.6 million (€77.6 million) over the period from stores under the Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Burton and Evans brand names, according to accounts recently filed at the Companies Office.
Pretax profits at the Irish stores were shaved by almost one-third, falling 30 per cent to £10.6 million (€12 million), the accounts for Arcadia Group Multiples (Ireland) Ltd show.
The company said it found trading conditions in Ireland “extremely challenging over the period” and said menswear stores Burton and plus-size ladies’ retailer Evans – two brands that target the mainstream market – had “particularly struggled”.
However, its three younger fashion brands – Topman, Dorothy Perkins and the edgier style powerhouse Topshop – performed relatively better.
The directors of the company said it “continues to benefit from the strength of the euro relative to sterling”.
During the period, Arcadia Group brands were among the most reluctant of UK retailers to pass on the benefit of a weaker sterling to consumers, typically translating Topshop items retailing at £35 in the UK into a €53 price.
The group retained profits of £8.9 million from the Irish stores over the fiscal year, in which it employed an average of 936 people, down slightly on the previous 12-month period. Some 416 of these positions were full-time. Staff costs amounted to £14 million, up 16 per cent on the year to August 2008.
Arcadia’s sales over the period outperformed those of the total market, figures from the Central Statistics Office suggest. Over the 12 months to August 2009, the value of clothing, footwear and textile sales fell 17.5 per cent.
Arcadia owner billionaire Philip Green is one of Britain’s most high-profile retailers.
He counts the model Kate Moss among his associates, while his most recent business venture is an alliance with television mogul Simon Cowell, through which Mr Green will invest in a company housing the global rights to the television brands X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent.
