Tory Burch UK and German sales rise but profits are down

Tory Burch (UK) Limited’s latest set of accounts is in and the company said its sales rose but some key profit measures fell in what was a 53-week period this time.

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The 12 months to 4 January saw sales rising 4.97% at the subsidiary that includes both the UK and German operations of the American luxury label. A year earlier they’d risen over 16%.

This time, they reached £29.86 million, up from £28.44 million a year earlier, but the cost of sales also increased to almost £12.9 million, up from £9.4 million.

Gross profit at the business was £16.96 million, down from £19 million a year earlier, although operating profit increased to £3.75 million from £2.5 million. Profit before tax was £4.38 million, up from £2.8 million, although the company paid more tax this time and net profit for the period was actually £3.08 million, down from £3.3 million in the previous year. The business was also impacted to a greater degree by negative fluctuations in currency rates. 

The brand currently has three standalone retail stores in the UK and two in Germany and its higher turnover for the year was driven both by stronger  e-commerce operations as well as as increased sales in those retail stores.

But the gross margin dropped to 56.8% from 66.9%, which primarily resulted from pricing adjustments to the group’s past inventory purchases under the current Tory Burch global transfer pricing policy.

The company didn’t offer up any further commentary with the results, although this is far from unusual for its Companies House filings.