Beds and mattresses retailer Bensons for Beds has reported a return to profitability and a growth in sales.
According to its latest accounts for the 53 weeks to 30 September 2023, total sales rose 7.5% to £257.5m from £239.4m 2022.
Reported EBITDA profit resulted at just over £1.5m, significantly improving from its loss of £15.4m recorded in the prior period.
The increase follows the implementation of the brand’s recovery plan set out in 2022, which has also seen the successful stabilisation of the business.
The turnaround strategy included appointing a new leadership and retail team and resetting the strategic focus in operations, digital and commercial areas. This included the appointment of a new Chief People Officer, Linda Sleath.
Commenting on the results, Bensons said: “There is an old retail saying to the effect that you should focus on the KPIs that you can control. Faced with lacklustre market demand, the Bensons team have done just that – focusing on sales conversion and Average Transaction Value in order to make the most of what demand there was, and on delivering a first-class customer experience both during and after sales were made and products delivered.
“That focus proved extremely effective, with all these controllable KPIs moving in the right direction. The ultimate measure of that is in the financial results which follow these pages, which show strong revenue growth and a return to profitability despite the challenging market.”
During the last 12 months, Bensons has made strong progress across a number of areas of the business. These include continued investment in omni channel and digital capability which has yielded positive results with digital LFL of +22%.
Bensons has increased store conversion with 14 new store openings across the year including Bensons re-entry into markets such as Peterborough and Speke and new catchments including Edinburgh Craigleith and Edrington.
Furthermore, since Bensons acquired eveSleep.co.uk in October 2022, the has shown “strong growth” and contributed positive EBITDA since its relaunch.
Nick Collard, CEO of Bensons for Beds, added “Five months into the new financial year and in an external market which remains challenging, we continue to make progress, and our performance remains in line with our expectations. For the remaining months of the financial year we remain focused on those factors in our control; store number growth, investment in colleague training, product innovation and digital capability.”
