Fat Face defies High Street woes with profits rise

Fashion brand Fat Face on Wednesday defied the doom and gloom plaguing the High Street with a rise in sales and profits.

The retailer, founded in 1988 by Tim Slade and Jules Leaver, who first sold T-shirts at ski resort, has seen sales go up by 7.4% to £238.4 million and underlying profits by 5.6% to £30.2 million.

Chief executive Anthony Thompson, a former Marks & Spencer and Asda executive, said: “If anyone thinks growth comes just from opening the doors, they’re wrong. It’s all about quality clothes and customer service – it’s not fake, it’s real.”

Same-store sales were up 4.9%, lifted by selling women’s clothes as well as Fat Face’s 11 shops in America, where same-store sales were up 20%. More shoppers are buying its wares online too, it said.

The company, owned by the private equity firm Bridgepoint, narrowed its debt by £11.4 million to £112.1 million.

Thompson is banking on creating exclusive ranges for the likes of posh department store Liberty to continue to grow sales.