Cortefiel’s owner sales down 1.6% in first semester, but profitability grows

Tendam continues its reorganization. The parent-company of the Cortefiel, Women’secret and Springfield brands, owned by CVC and Pai, has ended the first semester of the fiscal year with a decrease of sales of 1.6%, a lesser fall than the registered in previous periods. The company has also continued improving its profitability.

The company’s pre-tax benefit was 38.9 million euros between the 1^st of March and the 31^st of August, contrasting with the loss of 272,200 euros during the same period of the previous year. The gross operating profit (EBITDA) was placed at 79.4 million euros, ahead of the 85.4 million euros the former year. The gross margin, on its part, was of 62%, stabilizing above the bar of 60%.

For Jaume Miquel, Tandem’s managing director, “the company has had a satisfactory behavior in a semester characterized by adverse elements”. The revenue of Cortefiel’s parent-company was 554.4 million euros the first half of the year, a 1.6% less in comparison to the same period last year.

Tendam has reduced its debt to 479.6 million euros at the end of the first semester

The firm underlines that the factors which impacted this evolution were the clean up of its store network, an adverse climatology and the negative impact of exchange rates. “However, these factors were balanced out by an efficient operative management of the company between expenses and margins”, comments the firm in a statement. 

In that sense, Tendam points out the fact that operating expenses were about 1% reduced, and the structure ones a 2%. The group also highlights that “the stock management has resulted in a positive reduction of almost six million euros”.

On the other hand, the company has also improved its cash flow after tax, placing it in 57.7 million euros, and its net debt, which ascended to 479.6 million euros, contrasting with the 514 million euros from the beginning of the fiscal year.

Online and offline expansion

The online channel became one of the group’s motors again, with a rise of 27%. In the Iberian Peninsula, this channel already occupies 7% of the total sales of Tendam. In the medium-term, the company’s goal is to “power the omnichannel strategy on a global scale and reinforce e-commerce in all countries of their own management, starting by Russia”.

In parallel, the enterprise continues with its international expansion plan. The last markets which have experienced openings have been India, Mauricio, Réunion, and Sicily (Italy). By the end of the first semester, the brand has registered 28 net openings, summing up 2,016 points of sale in 91 countries. Out of this network, 1,207 are stores of their won; 691 are franchises and 118, corners.

Another of Tendam’s engines of growth and one of its main differentiation levers regarding other competitors are its loyalty programs. By the 31^st of August, the attributable sales to those clubs represented 75% of the total revenue, four percentage points more than in the same period last year.