German clothing manufacturer Ahler's FY19-20 sales fall 27%

Ahler's AG, a Germany-based manufacturer of men's and women's fashion products, has reported 26.8 per cent decline in its revenues to €151.6 million during the fiscal 2019-20 ended on November 30, 2020 compared to the revenues of €207.0 million in same period previous fiscal. The company’s net loss for the year increased to €18.4 million (FY18-19: €3.7 million).

 

“We had planned to return to profit in the fiscal year 2019/20 and would have achieved this on basis of the pre-orders until January 2021 - but then the coronavirus came,” Dr Stella Ahlers, member of the management board at Ahler’s, said in a press release. “To adjust the company precisely to the new trends and to align its structures with market requirements, we launched “New Tomorrow”, the most comprehensive strategic performance programme in the history of our company, at the beginning of the new financial year.”

 

Ahler’s gross profit for the year fell 28.1 per cent to €71.7 million (€99.7 million). Whereas, EBIT registered a loss of €15.3 million (€2.4 million).

 

“The effects of the coronavirus pandemic have further accelerated digitisation and brought online commerce even more into the focus of our business activities,” group stated in the release. In FY19/20, Ahler’s e-commerce revenues jumped 13.2 percent. However, retail segment sales slipped 30.4 percent.

 

Sales of group’s premium brands were down 25.8 per cent to €106.6 million (€143.7 million), while jeans and workwear segment sales dipped 28.9 per cent to €45.0 million (€63.3 million).

 

Regionally, sales in all the markets declined during FY19-20. Germany’s sales plunged 22.3 per cent to €87.1 million (€112.1 million), Western Europe’s sales decreased 28.1 per cent to €39.2 million (€54.5 million), and Middle Eastern Europe sales dropped 37.4 per cent to €25.3 million (€40.4 million).