TIDMKOOV
RNS Number : 1030U
Koovs PLC
05 April 2016
For Release at 7am BST on 5 April 2016
Koovs plc
KOOVS reaches GBP10 million sales*, ahead of target,
and 1 million registered users
Announces new collaboration with London illustrator Hattie
Stewart for autumn,
and launch this week of 6(th) designer collection with Manish
Arora
Trading update for the financial year to 31 March 2016
Koovs plc ("Koovs", the "Company" and, together with its
subsidiary undertakings, the "Group") (AIM: KOOV), the
fashion-forward business focused on the young Indian e-commerce
market, today announces a trading update for the financial year to
31 March 2016.
Financial and operational highlights
-- Annual sales* growth to INR981m (GBP10.0m), a 189% increase year on year.
-- 110% increase in website visits year on year, with weekly
traffic now consistently exceeding one million visits per week.
-- 55% increase in conversion rate year on year.
-- Registered users now 1 million, an increase of 226% over the year.
Koovs' business plan and strategy continues to deliver growth in
sales, brand awareness and traffic to the web site, with visits now
regularly exceeding 1 million each week. Sales* in the year to
March 2016 reached INR 981m (GBP10m), an increase of 189% on the
previous year. Web site traffic has increased by 110% and
conversion by 55%, resulting in more than a threefold increase in
the number of orders shipped.
The company also continues to grow its product range with new
categories launched (denim and basics) and designer collaborations
from global names such as Pankaj & Nidhi, Henry Holland, Giles
Deacon, Mawi, Nikhil Chinapa and Manish Arora.
Mary Turner, CEO of Koovs plc, says:
"The business has achieved strong growth in volumes, ahead of
our target for the year. Our focus is to bring affordable western
fashion to the growing urban, aspirational, youth movement in India
- a market which represents 75% of all online transactions across
India. We are delighted to announce our new exclusive, design
collaboration with Hattie Stewart, one of the most interesting
designers coming out of London right now. Her fresh and playful
style correlates exactly with our target market and we think our
customers will love her."
Hattie Stewart, London illustrator, says:
"It is incredibly exciting to be working with such a young,
energetic and growing company like Koovs. They have vibrant and
fun-loving customers and it's so exciting to see London designs
hitting the streets of India."
Market opportunity & business strategy
The opportunity and exceptional growth of the ecommerce market
in India provides the foundation for Koovs' ongoing business
strategy. According to Morgan Stanley, online shopping options in
India are growing rapidly and while the market share of first-phase
ecommerce market players has dropped from 91% to 83%, new niche
companies have grown market share from 2% to 7%.
Technopak, India's leading consultancy firm, has produced a
report on the opportunity for lifestyle and fashion ecommerce in
India, which has the world's fastest growing economy (7.5% GDP
growth in 2015), ahead of China (6.3%).
The report highlights that the median age of India's population
is 27, compared to 40 in the UK, and that the IMF has forecast that
an additional 250m people will join the workforce in India by 2030.
Combined with a move towards urbanisation and the focus of consumer
spending in mega-cities and super-regions, this provides the
perfect environment for ecommerce success.
In addition, the limited reach of organised retail means the
potential for ecommerce is significant. Unlike more mature markets,
ecommerce retail is largely new growth and new revenue rather than
replacement for traditional bricks and mortar.
The report concludes that "the private label led space, where
fashion becomes a lifestyle choice, 'editorialised' and curated by
the retailer to meet the customer's style needs, now presents a
real 'sweet spot' in the market. The new challenge, as the
ecommerce market becomes more sophisticated, is not to be a
generalist in trying to address all of the ecommerce market, but to
own a category, dominate a specific need/niche and remain relevant
for the target customer."
Fashion leadership
New Koovs collaboration with Hattie Stewart. Manish Arora
menswear launches.
Koovs also continues to demonstrate its credentials as a high
fashion destination with the announcement of a new collaboration
with London illustrator and graphic designer Hattie Stewart and the
launch of a sixth collaboration menswear collection with
Paris-based high fashion designer Manish Arora. These new
collaborations build on successful collections from Henry Holland,
Giles Deacon, Pankaj & Nidhi, Nikhil Chinapa and Mawi.
Hattie Stewart, a graphic designer/illustrator and favourite of
the art and fashion world, is collaborating with Koovs to create a
new collection for autumn 2016. Uniquely, Hattie's graphics will be
incorporated into exclusive new fabric designs. Hattie's cheeky and
fresh work, characterised as 'doodle bombs', has been exhibited in
London, New York, Berlin and Miami, taken over the covers of a
number of fashion magazines and won her commissions from catwalk
designers Marc Jacobs and Henry Holland, as well as brands such as
Mac, Adidas and Diesel. Hattie Stewart's approach is: "What's the
point of creating something if you don't love it?"
At the same time, Koovs' sixth collaboration collection goes
live with celebrated Paris-based designer Manish Arora. Again this
is a unique partnership as Arora, a global womenswear designer, has
created his first menswear collection Indian by Manish Arora X
KOOVS launching this week.
Capital raising
As previously announced, the Company has plans to raise
additional capital to invest in the growth of the business, which
remain on track.
Waheed Alli, Chairman of Koovs plc, says:
"The market in India offers a great opportunity for private
label and curated western fashion. Continued focus on the company's
core strategy and business plan is delivering significant growth
not only in sales but also web traffic and conversion rates, so we
are delighted."
Key Performance Indicators
Year ended Year ended Growth Year ended Year ended
March March March March
2016 2015 2016 2015
Memorandum(^) Memorandum(^)
Koovs.com INR 981 INR 340 +189% GBP10.0m GBP3.4m
sales* m m
Visits to
the website 43.8 million 20.9 million +110%
Conversion 1.5% 0.97% +55%
-------------- --------------
* Gross sales order value placed through the KOOVS.COM website
including taxes. This does not represent the revenue of the
Group.
^ Sterling equivalent at constant exchange rate of INR98.57 to
GBP1.
Notes to Editors
Koovs is focused on building KOOVS.COM into the leading fashion
destination in India. The Company is headquartered in London, where
the majority of its design and buying team is based, with all other
operational functions based in India. The marketing campaign video
can be seen at www.youtube.com/koovsdotcom
For further information,
please contact:
Koovs plc Tel: +44 (0)20 7151 0170
Mary Turner/Roy Naismith
Peel Hunt LLP
Dan Webster / George Tel: +44 (0) 20 7418
Sellar 8900
Jock Maxwell Macdonald
(ECM)
Brunswick Group LLP
Nick Claydon / Alison Tel: +44 (0) 20 7404
Kay 5959
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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