Koovs hurt by India’s demonetisation but sales still double

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Dec 22, 2016

London-based, India-focused online fashion retailer Koovs has felt the impact of India’s demonetisation programme.

The company targets style-conscious 20-somethings and said the Indian government’s move to take 500 and 1,000 rupee notes out of circulation has caused the business short-term cash liquidity issues.

Despite this, the online retailer has seen group revenue double to £4m in the six months to 30 September 2016, boosted by strong sales growth. Sales for the period on its site rose 114% to £7.9m, while website traffic increased 132% as a result of the company’s marketing programme.

But Koovs said the loss before tax increased to £9.1m from £5.7m in the prior year’s period, as it continues to invest in marketing and technology.

Company CEO Mary Turner said Koovs' own-brand collections are performing well and now account for 40% of all sales.

"It has been another amazing six months of growth for both sales and new customers,” said Turner.

“We have delivered on both our strategic and financial objectives and are in line with expectations. The increases in our customer base, registered base and social followers will provide an excellent opportunity for future growth. Whilst demonetisation had a short-term impact on the market and ecommerce we have seen good growth in November and had some of our best days for sales in December.”

The demonetisation process has had some beenfits as it has helped the retailer shift customers towards digital payments.