Clothing company Sosandar has revealed plans to establish a standalone bricks and mortar presence in 2024, eight years after the retailer launched online.
The womenswear brand which sells from its own website as well as online partnerships including with M&S and Next, recently launched in shops for the first time through working with Sainsbury’s.
The company, which counts Amanda Holden and Fearne Cotton among its celebrity fans, launched its website in 2016. The firm was founded by Ali Hall, a former editor of Look magazine, and Julie Lavington, the magazine’s former publishing director.
Sosandar said the move to open its own branches will expand its “addressable market into more locations where our loyal customers want to shop”.
By Spring the fashion firm expects to have opened its first identified stores in the UK “in affluent towns with thriving high streets where Sosandar customers over-index”.
The retailer added: “The company carefully monitors consumer shopping habits and trends on an ongoing basis. With clear evidence of consumers increasingly shopping on the high street coupled with the growing strength of the Sosandar brand, the company is perfectly placed to develop its omnichannel strategy with its own bricks and mortar presence.”
The update came alongside Sosandar reporting it will boost its international presence through new agreements with The Iconic in Australia and The Bay in Canada to begin selling online in the fourth quarter of the current financial year.
Sosandar added that the Autumn trading has started very well despite the unseasonably warm weather in September.
In the six months to September 30 net revenue improved 6% to £22.3 million, but it swung to a pre-tax loss of £1.3 million from a £100,000 profit a year earlier. That was driven by the move away from price led promotions.
Hall and Lavington, co-chief executives said: “Our decision to open our own stores is the logical next step as we look to offer our customers more ways to engage and shop with Sosandar. We know that the added value of being able to touch and feel our clothes will appeal to our target customers.”
The pair added: "Whilst we do expect to see a short-term impact as we transition the business to offer less promotional activity, we still expect to be in growth and remain profitable.”
