boohoo ends difficult year on a high

Online fashion retailer boohoo, which operates a major distribution hub in Burnley, has reported an increase in annual revenues of 41 per cent, up to £1.75bn.

It has been a turbulent year for the company. In addition to expansion through the acquisition of brands such as Oasis, Debenhams and Dorothy Perkins, it was also subject to a damning report by the Sunday Times into the working conditions of factories in its supply chain.

As a result of the report and its own investigation, boohoo has strengthened its corporate governance through a new non-executive director appointment, the establishment of a Risk Committee and committing more than £10m to supply chain monitoring and compliance.

Throughout, sales up to the year ended 28 February 2021, continued to grow. boohoo added 18 million more active customers, an increase of 20 per cent, and profit before tax rose by 35 per cent to £124.7m.

With the full integration of its latest acquisitions, the boohoo board said it expected sales to increase over the current year by a further 25 per cent.

Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane, boohoo group co-founders, said: "Over the last year the group has made great progress, delivering another set of record results despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We have made significant progress on our Agenda for Change programme, with greater oversight of our supply chain, stronger governance and more transparency. We are  embedding a new way of working and improving the sustainability of the group for the benefit of all stakeholders."

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