Beaverbrooks posts record turnover despite drop in profits

National diamond, jewellery and watch retailer, Beaverbrooks, has announced record turnover of £228.6m in its latest accounts (March 2023 to February 2024).

The St Annes-based family business saw an increase of £3m in turnover in the year to February 2024.

The 105-year-old retailer said the rise was down to a growing market share in a difficult economic landscape.

Despite the growth in turnover, Beaverbrooks has reported a drop in operating profits to £10.5m due to increased operating costs and significant levels of long-term investment.

Despite the challenging trading environment, the business has continued its commitment to prioritising its people, product and infrastructure to ensure business growth, and remains confident for the future.

The national firm has increased its investment in its store estate by five per cent on the previous year, totalling over £15.3m.

This included the refurbishment of seven Beaverbrooks stores, in addition to the opening of a second luxury Loupe boutique in Croydon and five mono-brand boutiques – bringing the total to 88 Beaverbrooks Group stores nationwide.

Investing in customer experience and providing an exceptional service has continued to be a primary focus for the brand.

As a result, Beaverbrooks is further enhancing its portfolio in 2024/25 with significant long-term investment in store refurbishment and openings, and in its ecommerce function for online shoppers.

The retailer has also prioritised its culture of putting people first, with a Christmas bonus of a week’s extra pay and retaining its tradition of not opening on Boxing Day.

The business has also continued to develop its teams across the UK, with hundreds of colleagues completing training courses across the year.

This investment into team development forms part of its long-held strategic view that prioritising people in all business decisions creates a more engaged and stronger workforce, reflected positively in driving sales and exceptional levels of customer service.

Despite the retailer’s reduction in profit, it continues its commitment to its core purpose of enriching lives of the communities it serves with donations of over £2.34m through the Beaverbrooks Charitable Trust – the highest proportion of its annual profits donated to charitable causes to date.

Anna Blackburn, managing director at Beaverbrooks, said: “Despite a challenging marketplace, we are very proud of what we’ve achieved by maintaining a long-term view on investment that gives us confidence moving forward.

"Central to our success is our hard-working and engaged teams across the country and I am so proud that we have stayed true to our company culture, coming together and working so hard.

"We also greatly appreciate the loyalty of our customers who have continued to shop with us to purchase diamonds, jewellery and luxury and designer watches.

“Staying true to our values by putting people first has always allowed us to emerge from difficult trading times stronger than ever, and we are committed to continuing this into the future.

"We know that 2024 has been a challenging year already, so it is more important than ever that we put profits back into optimising our business and investing in our people, product and infrastructure to ensure growth moving forward.

"We are as focused, optimistic and ambitious as ever and as the industry faces more turbulent times ahead, we have everything we can in place to drive profitability and grow.”

Mark Adlestone OBE, Chairman at Beaverbrooks, said: “As a family-owned business, enriching lives and making positive changes to the world is in our DNA, and this is reflected in every decision we make as a company.

"I am very proud that we have been able to donate over £2.34m of profits to charities during these uncertain times, when they need it most.

"Remaining true to our culture and values, we will continue to invest in the business, our people and the communities we serve to futureproof the Beaverbrooks Group and its ongoing success.”

Beaverbrooks was established in 1919, providing exceptional quality diamonds, jewellery and watches.

The jeweller spans a total of 88 locations across the UK, with 63 Beaverbrooks stores, three Loupe stores, plus 22 dedicated luxury mono-brand boutiques, including TAG Heuer, OMEGA, Breitling, Tudor and Longines.

Having always championed a people-first culture, the company has achieved numerous accolades including Happiest Place to Work For at the Retail Week Awards 2023, as well as Best Retailer to Work For and third place in the 100 Best Large Companies to Work For in the 2023 Best Companies Awards.