Joules faces Brexit costs of up to £1m a year, fashion retailer says

Joules faces Brexit costs of around £1 million per year, the fashion retailer said as it showed how lockdowns have hit revenues.

The company, which is known for its wellies and jackets, imports goods from a number of countries, including China and India, to its warehouse in Corby. They are then distributed to Joules’ UK stores and customers’ homes here, while some products are shipped to shoppers in the EU.

Joules, led by Nick Jones, today said: “The new trading arrangement will result in higher costs for certain of the group's exports to the EU as a result of higher duty charges, higher courier costs and increased administrative costs.”

It estimates the impact of this to be between £800,000 to £1 million per year,  in line with the board’s expectations.

Revenue at Joules decreased by 15.3% in the 26 weeks to November 29. It had to close shops at various points for Covid lockdowns, but has seen strong online sales growth, and profits were better than expected.