Joules (JOUL) efforts in expanding internationally – specifically into the US and Germany – have paid off, causing management to raise profit expectations for the year to May 2019.
In a pre-close trading statement, the group said underlying pre-tax profits would be at the top of the consensus £14.8-£15.3m range, thanks to revenue growth and cost management.
International markets grew to account for 16 per cent of sales in the year, from 13 per cent in 2018. Management has been using a wholesale-first route to access international markets, causing the business to derive only half of its sales from the domestic market.
On the retail side, the 'total retail' strategy of multichannel selling has also been paying off. Customers are increasingly favouring online shopping, and e-commerce now accounts for half of retail revenues.
