SuperGroup's all-female womenswear team helps sales surge

SuperGroup boss Euan Sutherland has credited the all-female design team behind Superdry’s womenswear range for helping the company buck the High Street trend for sliding sales.

Sales were up 21.3% at £590.1 million and underlying pre-tax profits grew 16.3% to £73.5 million in the year that ended in April. That triggered a special dividend of 20p.

The shares today rose 72p to 1413p.

The “more feminine direction” in design and efforts to make stores more female-friendly, such as displaying products as complete looks, made women’s clothing the fastest-growing category in the year.

SuperGroup’s new sportswear range and its premium line, designed in collaboration with Wire star Idris Elba and launching in the US this summer, were also strong performers.

Sutherland said the company had deliberately picked an all-women team to produce the range, which remains SuperGroup’s “most significant opportunity”. Supergroup’s head of womenswear design is Siri MacDonald.

He added that Britain’s decision to leave the European Union would not lead to any change to strategy, including its expansion in the US, China and Europe.