Monsoon owner posts £7.5m loss as weak demand and rising costs bite

Adena Brands, owner of Monsoon, Accessorize, and East, has posted a pre-tax loss of £7.5m for the year to August 31, reversing a £14.1m profit in the previous period amid weak consumer demand and steep cost inflation.

Turnover fell to £204m from £231m as the group faced ongoing challenges in retail and underperformance in key areas.

The business said the results “reflected a challenging environment, with weak consumer demand and steep wage and other cost inflation, but also underperformance in several areas and the results reflect both that underperformance and the investment made to turn the performance around.”

Adena paid a £2m dividend to its parent entity during the period, believed to be Peter Simon, the company’s founder and owner, whose dividend payments have been scaled back since a restructuring phase. Dividends stood at £1m in the previous year.

Monsoon Accessorize, formerly known as such before rebranding, has been undergoing a turnaround under CEO Nick Stowe following its collapse into administration in 2020, which was blamed on the pandemic and lockdowns.

The group, which once operated around 230 UK stores, now runs approximately 150.

Adena focused on improving its store portfolio, childrenswear line, and underperforming international markets including Saudi Arabia, Italy and Germany.

The company said these efforts “addressed the underperformance but they required investment and involved transitions that led to lower sales, significantly impacting our results for the period.”

Since the financial year end, Adena has recorded “positive results” from these investments despite ongoing weak consumer spending and rising wage costs.

Stowe said: “Last year was a tough year for us and for retail in general. But it’s a long game and we pushed ahead with our plans and investment and faced into the need to improve our performance in several areas.”

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