Feather & Black returns to profit after revamp and online push
A turnaround and online push at upmarket furniture retailer Feather & Black helped it return to profit last year.
The 16-year-old company, which was resurrected after falling into administration in 2005, said changes including the closure of underperforming stores and cost cutting helped deliver a 6.1% rise in orders in the year to October 2.
Sales edged up 2.3% to £23.2 million, while pretax profit hit £204,000 compared to a £3.6 million loss the year before.
Chief executive Dan Wade, brought in by owner Wade Furniture Group in 2013, said: “We can put this down to a series of measures including; a new and successful marketing strategy and campaign and the re-launch of our website which has since become the brand’s largest single store.”
A quarter of its sales now come via online.
The bedroom furniture specialist admitted however that margins remain under pressure due to the pound’s post-Brexit slump. It also said its management had again reviewed property leases.
Feather & Black is planning to grow sales by moving beyond the bedroom with new product ranges.
The company was founded by Adam Black, who went on to create bed linen seller Secret Linen Store, and Robbie Feather, now Argos’s commercial director.