Victoria Beckham 's fashion empire has reportedly lost tens of millions over the past few years, with the brands blaming the Covid-19 pandemic.
Victoria's brands are known for their huge price tags with jumpers selling for as much as £500 and jeans that cost £400. A company report has said that people were more careful about their spending during the pandemic and weren't willing to splash out on designer clothes.
This may only get worse for Victoria's fashion empire, as the cost of living squeeze is causing many to cut back on luxury items. In fact, a recent report from the University of Bristol found that 4.4 million households are now struggling to make ends meet.
Victoria is seeing losses across her businesses, with her designer brand and her new make-up firm seeing £15.6m in debt racked up in 2019. A further £6.6million of debt was accumulated in 2020 when the pandemic hit.
This would mean that the former Spice Girl could be in as much as £53.9m of debt, reports the Mirror, with an added £29m owed to the Beckhams ’ other businesses. The figures for her fashion brands were confirmed as accurate by a Victoria Beckham spokeswoman.
A financial report said: "Total revenues for the Victoria Beckham Holdings group fell 6% to £36.1m (2019 – £38.3m) due to the effects of the global pandemic.
"This group rapidly responded to the effects of the pandemic and controlled its cash and expenditure which led to a significant reduction in its operating losses by 57%, thanks to cost efficiencies across the business and the recalibration of its business model to make it sustainable for the longer term.
"Victoria Beckham Beauty continues to expand its portfolio with a number of successful product launches in this year with best in class in clean luxury beauty and skincare."
But despite the big losses, David and Victoria Beckham’s global empire reportedly doubled its profits, raking in £11.6m. Their joint business interests earned the sum in 2020, despite the pandemic. And the pair took out total dividends of £15m and paid £2.5m in tax.
Annual accounts filed with Companies House in London this week show the pair made £11.6m in the year ending December 2020 – compared to £4.5m in 2019. Much of the cash was from David’s tie-ins with firms like adidas, watch maker Tudor and Haig whisky.
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