Lovisa has recorded an 18.2 per cent lift in sales to $373 million, as the jewellery chain executes entry into China and Vietnam.
A key driver of growth for Lovisa is its continued global store roll out, with 74 new stores opened during the period, taking the store network to 854 stores globally across more than 40 markets.
This includes the opening of its first stores in the key Asian markets of mainland China and Vietnam, adding to the 12 new markets opened in the prior year.
Lovisa’s Americas market continued to remain a major driver of store network growth with 28 new stores opened in the period in the region, including six new franchise stores in South America. Europe trailed just behind the Americas, with 26 new stores opened, including 12 in France.
During FY23, Lovisa renegotiated its franchise contract with its Middle Eastern franchise partner, allowing the jewellery chain to convert the UAE market to company operated while the remainder of the countries in the region remain as franchise operations. As part of this change, a further 13 franchise stores in the UAE were closed during the half year as the existing partner exits this business.
Lovisa converted three UAE stores to company owned and is actively looking at expanding this market.
Excluding the UAE stores, the Australian jeweller closed seven stores during the half.
“The company has continued to deliver solid sales and profit growth and invested in the structures to support our steady global expansion,” CEO Victor Herrero said. “This positions us strongly to move forward with growth in both existing and new markets.
“I want to again share my appreciation of the entire global Lovisa team for their outstanding work and dedication to deliver these results.”
Despite the growth in stores, Lovisa’s comparable store sales for the half were down 4.4 per cent. This has since shifted, with comparable store sales up 0.3% for the first seven weeks of 2024.
Total sales for the first seven weeks are up 19.6%, with 9 new stores being opened, taking the total store network to 860, including its first store in Dublin, Ireland, adding another new market to the network.
Regarding finances in the first half of FY24, Lovisa’s gross margin lifted by 40 basis points to 80.7 per cent, with its operating profit up 16.3 per cent to $81.6 million and its net profit after tax up 12 per cent to $53.5 million.
The company ended the half year period with a net cash of $15.5 million at period end, with $120 million of available cash facilities in place.