Signs of a sales rebound for hard-hit Mosaic Brands’ stable of fashion stores

The owner of Noni B, Katies and Millers has revealed an $11m loss thanks to Covid-19 but a trading rebound has emerged.

Fashion chain Mosaic Brands has emerged from Covid-19 lockdowns and store closures by swinging to a loss of $11.154m for the year as sales also slid.

The retailer, whose portfolio includes Noni B, Millers and Katies, on Wednesday said that after absorbing eight months of Covid-19 effects in fiscal 2022, the group delivered an EBITDA loss of $16m. Across the group almost 50,000 trading days were lost in the first half and the impact of the Omicron wave in the second half.

With lockdowns and Covid-19 fears particularly strong among its traditionally older demographic of shoppers, Mosaic Brands said comparative sales for 2022 were down 1.7 per cent and total sales for the year 12.6 per cent smaller at $619.65m.

However, along with the switch to online shopping through the pandemic, it did hit record online sales of $223m – representing 36 per cent of total revenue.

Mosaic Brands posted a full-year net loss of $11.154m against a profit of $2.781m in 2021.

There were signs of a rebound towards the end of 2022 as like-for-like sales in the fourth quarter accelerated when the community began to put fears of the Omicron wave behind it.

“The positive sales trends we called out late in the fourth quarter have further accelerated into the new financial year,” said Mosaic Brands chief executive Scott Evans.

“Covid has not disappeared in the community but the fear around it has clearly diminished with the continued return of in-store customers seen in June, accelerating further into fiscal 2023. It is also very positive that while we are seeing this return to in-store shopping, we are still achieving online growth for the majority of our brands.”

For the first eight weeks of the 2022-23 financial year total group sales increased by 49 per cent, with comparative in-store only sales achieving 18 per cent growth and digital sales up 3 per cent.

“While we expect there may be broader economic head winds ahead, they pale in comparison to the tsunami of challenges Covid has delivered over the last three financial years given our unique market segment,” Mr Evans said.

“As is happening in US retail, value is becoming the key consideration for consumers in an inflationary environment, and we are positioned strongly in that space.”