Qatar-owned London department store Harrods has reported a 35.5 per cent sales increase and was back in the black for the year ending January 29.
Gross or pre-tax profits of £51 million ($58 million) was recorded in the fiscal year 2021 and 2022, improving on the £68 million loss from the previous year, Yahoo!life reported.
Sales shot up by 35.5 per cent year on year to $666 million, as the easing of lockdown brought back Harrod’s core customers as well as international travellers, particularly those from the Middle East, and helped upturn the difficult period.
The business’ transactional revenue during this period was $1.78 billion, up 42.6 per cent compared to the previous period’s $1.24 billion, according to Yahoo!life figures.
Michael Ward, managing director at Harrods, told the The Sunday Times that sales this year were on track to hit the £870.8 million achieved in the year ending February 2020.
Mr Ward caveated that due to rising labour costs and energy bills, profits would not rise to the same extent, however.
Tim Parker, chief financial officer at Harrods, said, “2021 [year ended 29 January 2022] saw the business begin an encouraging recovery despite the continued, although moderating, impact of the pandemic,” business magazine Drapers reported.
“Our performance was greatly impacted by our Knightsbridge store being closed for 10 weeks during the third lockdown, international travel remaining subdued, and the suspension of the VAT Retail Export Scheme. However, despite this, we are delighted to share that Harrods performed well ahead of our initial expectations, with Gross Transaction Value up 42% on 2020 and the business strongly improving profitability.
“We also continued to invest in our physical and digital offering during the pandemic, showcasing our confidence in the outlook for the business,” adds Parker. “Trade performance toward the end of the year was particularly encouraging, highlighting the strength of our long-standing customer and brand relationships as well as the continued resilience of the luxury market.”
