Pre-tax profits at Lovehoney have surged by 22% after another record year for the Bath-based sexual wellbeing online retailer, with sales hitting £93 million in 2017/18.
Co-founders Neal Slateford and Richard Longhurst | Image © Lovehoney
The profit rise from £9 million to £11 million during the 2017/18 financial year was driven by strong sales globally as the firm invested in international distribution and customer service.
Sales were also up 22% – increasing from £76 million to £93 million – with strong demand for Lovehoney’s own-brand products.
All Lovehoney territories saw growth but particularly impressive was a £31.6m increase in Australia and North America – a 67% rise year-on-year.
The company defied the widely reported high street retail slump and sales were up by 30.5% globally in the run-up to Christmas.
Unveiling the results up to March 31 2018, Lovehoney co-founder Richard Longhurst said: “This year has been our biggest year to date, with record sales and profit which are both up by more than a fifth.
“Sales growth of more than two thirds in two key territories of America and Australia reflects our focus on international expansion as a key part of our global strategy.
“After opening our own distribution centres in Australia and the US last year, we now are able to tailor offers and deals to meet local demand, further fuelling our international growth.
“Our aim is to be the world’s best known sexual wellbeing brand. We now have nine international websites in four languages served from three distribution centres.
“We are the ‘go to’ destination for people who want to discover a fun and fulfilling sex life. Our customer services is 24/7 and fluent in multiple languages so we’re on hand to help no matter where in the world you are.”
Longhurst continued: “We have had some huge successes and great moments in our history but we’re not resting on our laurels. We are constantly looking to build our own brand products to ensure that we’re not relying on third parties to come up with new products.
“By creating our own products, we can ensure that customers know they’ll always get the best innovation and quality, and at a fair price.”
In June, private equity firm Telemos Capital invested in the business and acquired a majority stake from Longhurst and co-founder Neal Slateford.
The duo continue to lead day-to-day operations at its headquarters in Bath and Telemos’ Executive Chairman Philippe Jacobs and Chief Investment Officer Jacob Polny have joined the Lovehoney board.
Sales have continued to grow at similar levels to the previous year in the nine months following the end of the 2017/18 financial year.
