Sosandar confirms bricks-and-mortar expansion
Sosandar has confirmed it will make its first moves into bricks-and-mortar retail, as it aims to become one of the biggest womenswear brands worldwide.
Earlier this month, Completely Retail News reported that the primarily-online retailer had set out an initial target of 20 standalone, physical stores.
Sosandar said the move into its own stores will begin in spring 2024 and will expand its addressable market into more locations. The retailer added that it will be targeting “affluent towns and thriving high streets” where its customer base shops more frequently.
Sosandar’s investment into its store programme will be self-funded from its own cash resources, and will include people, store execution, infrastructure, and margin growth support.
The retailer was founded in 2016 by Ali Hall and Julie Lavington and has partnerships with Next, John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, The Very Group, and JD Williams.
Earlier this year, it also reached an agreement to sell a curated collection of its products through Sainsbury’s supermarkets. The wholesale agreement initially saw the womenswear sold only through the supermarket’s website, with a number of selected stores selling the products in October.
Hall and Lavington said that the decision to open Sosandar’s own stores is the “logical next step”.
“With a clear rollout plan in place and strict criteria around the location of potential stores, we are confident that our stores will enable us to accelerate our market share and increase the awareness of our brand”, they added.
This comes as the retailer posts a trading update for the six months ending 30 September, a period during which it saw revenue increase by 6% year-on-year to £22.3m.
During the period, Sosandar recorded a pre-tax loss of £1.3m, down from a £0.1m profit in the same period a year prior.