Although sales for fiscal 2011/12 increased 4.6 percent to
£60.7 million at Kitbag, the Findel-owned sportswear etailer
posted an operating loss of £4.2 million. Legacy issues
identified in unprofitable contracts, margin management and
inventory control were all to blame for the loss, compared with a
profit of £1.9 million last year.
To combat the decline and turn the company’s fortunes around,
chief executive Andy Anson has made several appointments to
bolster the management team. David Miles, formerly commercial
director at Asda, was appointed interim trading director in
December 2011. In September, Ralph Tucker joins from Sainsbury’s
ecommerce division to take up the post on a permanent basis.
Kitbag has also appointed Martin Smith, currently working at
parent company Findel, as chief financial officer; promoted Ed
Boardman to commercial director, Sam Jones to director of
services and named Kerry Scotney, currently head of Kitbag.com,
as head of ecommerce.
To further accelerate growth, Kitbag will relaunch its website in
mid-July, which according to Anson, will focus “deeper into
football and rugby”. The revamped site will also introduce
new sections for running, sports fashion and women’s fitness with
“other categories to follow in the next few
months”.
Kitbag’s operating loss last year was also attributed to “a
number of contracts with an unattractive balance of risk to
reward”, said Findel chief executive Roger Siddle in a
statement delivering the group’s final results. He said that
fixed payments to some clubs had been set at too high a level,
resulting in losses when “sales failed to materialise due
to poor on-pitch performance or general consumer
pressures”. Anson says Kitbag has since “renegotiated
a number of deals”, revealing that it has just signed a
deal with the Ryder Cup to handle its ecommerce requirements for
the next two tournaments, as well as renewing deals with Aston
Villa FC and the British Open.
On the international front, Anson says Kitbag is looking to
establish a bigger presence in Asia to mirror the success its
clients Manchester United FC, Real Madrid FC and Formula One are
having in the Far East. He says, “We launched a ‘Man U’
site in Mandarin and are looking to expand further.”
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