This performance was even more impressive considering Moss Bros was up against tough comparatives from the same period last year when underlying sales rose 7.4 per cent. And it's not as if the top-line growth is being achieved at the cost of margin as the company has delivered a hefty 4.3 percentage point improvement in its retail gross margin implying a run rate around 60 per cent, a marked acceleration on the 3 percentage point improvement seen in the second half of the last financial year. This was mainly achieved by not running a mid-season sale, a decision which chief executive Brian Blick believes reflects the "strength of our core offer." He has a point as it's not as if the general retail backdrop has been benign, far from it in fact. So the fact that Moss Bros has been able to not only buck the retail trend, but generate solid revenue growth is a clear indication of its growing appeal to customers.
Indeed, the launch of sub-brands Moss London, Moss 1851 and Moss Esquire have all strengthened the company's brand offering and are underpinning the level of full price sales and boosting gross margins. Online initiatives are helping improve channels to market, too: digital sales increased by almost 10 per cent year-on-year in the latest 15-week trading period and now account for 10.7 per cent of total sales. A 'click & collect' service for store purchases and hire sales is clearly helping drive online sales as site traffic, conversion and retention rates are all improving.