Virgin Cosmetics sales up 15 per cent
pretax profit in the year to end March 2004. The company said its
profitability was helped by Virgin Cosmetics' sales and that
trading levels in the first eight weeks of the current financial
year are encouraging for cosmetics.
Overall cosmetics sales are reportedly up 15 per cent this year on the same period of the last financial year, the first eight weeks. Sales through the direct selling channel increased 17 per cent whilst like-for-like sales in its retail stores climbed 3 per cent.
Established in 1997, Virgin Cosmetics sells its makeup and skincare products through 22 UK retail stores (11 of which are in Virgin Spa Centres), plus outlets in South Africa and the Middle East, which are operated under licence, and through mail order and direct selling.
The company claimed to be the fastest growing and second largest direct selling company in the UK, with annual sales of UK£50 million (€75 m).
Virgin Cosmetics posted a pretax profit in the year to March 2004 of just over UK£2 million (€3.2 m) compared to a pretax loss of nearly UK£8 million (€12 m) in 2003.
The cosmetics business reported a surge in sales by a third and the company said it expects the business will continue to grow during the next two years at "satisfactory growth rates".
As reported by Agence France Presse, executive chairman John Jackson said: "We are pleased that our strategy of concentrating our resources on the highly successful Virgin Cosmetics business has resulted in another year of strong growth and has delivered our first group profits."
