Sosandar to halt new store openings as it lowers guidance

Sosandar has said it will be pausing new store openings and will instead focus on bringing the six stores it has opened so far to profitability.
This comes as the womenswear retailer reduces its guidance for the 2026 financial year after it made no sales through M&S – it’s second biggest third-party partner – since mid-April, after the retailer suffered a cyber attack.
Sosandar now expects its revenue for the current financial year to be £43.6m, with a pre-tax profit of £0.4m. These figures have been revised from an expected revenue and pre-tax profit of £46.2m and £1.5m, respectively.
However, these revised figures are still ahead of the retailer’s results for the 2025 financial year, during which it recorded revenue of £37.1m and a pre-tax profit of £0.2m.
Ali Hall and Julie Lavington, co-CEOs of Sosandar, said: “During the last year we’ve strengthened the foundations of the business, which will enable us to deliver our growth and profit ambitions going forwards. Taking the decision to reduce price promotions has resulted in an expected reduction in revenue but significantly improved margins and cash generation which, in turn, has allowed the Group to maintain a robust balance sheet and self-fund its growth plan.
“The opening of our first stores was a milestone for Sosandar, and we are pleased with how we have brought our brand to life in the physical retail environment. We have taken clear learnings from the trajectory of our stores in market towns versus shopping centres and are focused on getting our existing portfolio to profitability before opening any further stores. This decision, alongside the continuing impact from the Marks & Spencer cyber incident on our third-party sales, means we are moderating our expectations for revenue and profit growth in the current year.
“Nonetheless, we believe we are now at an inflection point, with the foundations laid for profitable, cash generative growth, and we have returned to revenue growth in Q1 FY26. We will continue to leverage our brand equity and scale the business through our multiple channels and are excited for what lies ahead for Sosandar.”
Sosandar, which in 2024 said it was targeting up to 50 stores, has since launched in locations such as Bath, Harrogate, Cardiff St David’s, and Gateshead’s Metrocentre.