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U.K.’s Garrard & Co Sees 2014-15 Revenue, Profit Slump
Mar 9, 2016 4:53 AM
By Mordy Rapaport
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RAPAPORT... Garrard & Co., an exclusive London-based jeweler, said revenue
and profit slumped in fiscal year 2014-15 as sales in the Middle East, the
company’s largest geographical market, fell 43 percent.
Total
sales dropped 20 percent to $15.9 million (GBP 11.2 million) over the year to
March 31, 2015, while international revenue slid 25 percent amid a challenging
environment, the company reported in its annual accounts February 5, 2016.
Profit nosedived 98 percent to $62,415 from $3.8 million a year ago. Close
management of working capital would continue in 2015 to 2016, the accounts
said.
The Middle East markets “continue to be key,” the
company said, adding that it has strengthened its presence across Saudi Arabia,
Dubai, Bahrain, Qatar and China and established a partnership with a “major
Russian company” which has placed a “significant” order in the first half of
the new financial year.
The company, which once was the
British monarchy’s crown jeweler, also explained that the outsized drop in
revenue in the current fiscal year follows a non-recurring revenue of $4.5
million for a “unique bespoke product” in 2013-14.
Meanwhile,
Eric Deardorff resigned as Garrard’s chief executive officer in July 2015, with
control of the business handed to jewelry designer Stephen Webster as acting
CEO. Joanne Milner was then recruited
into the role, joining from British luxury brand Debrett’s in February. Webster
would act simultaneously as chairman of Garrard and of his own design firm.
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Tags:
Garrard & Co., Jewelry, london, middle east, Mordy Rapaport , Rapaport News, u.k.
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