Losses at Harvey Nichols increased from £15.5 million to £38.6 million as the result of a challenging year which saw its stores close for 8 months during the year to March 22nd, ’21. The business generated total sales of £121 million which was down on the £222 million it posted prior to the pandemic. During the year it had focused on controlling costs and cash flow, investing in IT and in its digital capabilities which had helped to increase online sales.
The company has secured £66m in funding to finance its recovery and will launch a new customer loyalty programme in January.
CEO Manju Malhotra said: “Like most retailers, the group has been significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic with physical stores being closed due to government mandated lockdowns for much of the period, coupled with a sharp reduction in tourist arrivals due to travel restrictions. Over the reporting period, our stores were shut for eight out of twelve months. And whilst online performance remained strong, this was not sufficient to offset the impact of the closure of physical stores and the reduced footfall in city centres.
“There remains a high degree of uncertainty about how the pandemic will play out, but during the period we have continued to implement exciting new initiatives across the business to drive loyalty and excellent customer shopping experience.”
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