15 December 2021

In The Style Group plc

("In The Style", the "Company" or the "Group")

Interim Results for the six months ended 30 September 2021

A period of very strong revenue growth across all channels against an exceptional prior period

In The Style, the fast-growing digital womenswear fashion brand with an innovative influencer collaboration model, announces its results for the six months to 30 September 2021 (the "Period"). Financial highlights in this report are provided on both a year-on-year basis and two-year basis, reflecting the exceptional trading performance and growth in the prior year period:

Financial highlights:

·     Impressive growth against an exceptional prior period in spite of industry wide supply chain disruption, demonstrating growing awareness of the distinctive In The Style brand and the Group's flexible and agile model.

·     Revenue increased 38.8% to £29.8 million (H1 2021: £21.5 million); on a two-year basis revenue increased 245.5%:

o  Direct-to-consumer (net) revenue increased 23.4% to £23.0 million. (H1 2021: £18.6m).

o  Wholesale revenue increased 138.7% to £6.9 million (H1 2021: £2.9 million).

·     EBITDA decreased to £1.2 million (H1 2021: £2.5 million; H1 2020 loss of £0.6m).

·     Profit Before Tax decreased to £0.9 million (H1 2021: £1.8 million; H1 2020 loss of £0.9m).

·     Profitability impacted by industry-wide supply chain disruption as well as a higher return rates versus the prior year, in part reflecting sales growth of the Group's more inclusive size ranges, which is being addressed through increased investment in product and garment technology and fitting.

·     At the Period end the Group had cash of £9.9 million (H1 2021: £4.3 million).

Operational highlights:

·     Progress across all operational KPIs despite the exceptionally strong prior year comparative period:

o  Website visits increased 7.6%; on a two-year basis website visits increased 63.3%;

o  Conversion rate improved 26bps or 9.3% from 2.81% to 3.07%;

o  Average order value increased 25.8%;

o  Order frequency increased 23.4%

·     E-commerce Gross Order Value (gross sales pre returns) increased 48% year on year and 185% on a two-year basis.

·     243,000 new customers in the period, a growth of 3.8% year on year, pleasing given the lockdown comparatives and representing 88.2% growth on a two-year basis.

·     Continued progress of the proprietary In The Style App, now comprising 63% of total e-commerce sales (H1 2021: 54.5%).

·     Launched 10 new influencer partnerships, including singer and TV personality Stacey Solomon, whose debut collection was amongst the most popular in the brand's history. 

·     Expansion of wholesale partnerships including the nationwide 100 store launch with ASDA.

Post Period end highlights:

·     The Group strengthened its senior management team with the appointments of Sam Perkins as CEO and Adam Frisby as Chief Brand Officer, positioning the business to deliver the next stages of its long-term growth ambitions.

·     Two further influencer partnerships launched since the Period end, including Love Island contestant Liberty Poole and TV presenter Alison Hammond. Alison was the face of The People's Collection, In The Style's most inclusive range to date which for the first time allowed customers to influence both the design and celebrity endorsement of a collection.

·     Since the Period end, return rates have reduced in line with expectations reflecting the seasonal change in the product mix, and we are confident of achieving a lower underlying returns rate over the medium term.

·     Strategic brand expansion into the homeware category with the launch of the debut In The Style Home collaboration in partnership with influencer partner Olivia Bowen.

Current trading and outlook:

Adam Frisby, CEO and founder of In The Style, commented: 

"In The Style has continued to deliver very strong sales growth and strategic progress during the first half of the financial year. The business has continued to build on its exceptional growth in the prior year, despite the reopening of physical retail and lifting of social restrictions during the Period, which reflects the strength of our brand and our truly differentiated influencer collaboration model.

"During the period we continued to expand the business with the launches of a number of exciting influencer partnerships, as well as successfully developing the Group's growing wholesale channel through the launch of our partnership with ASDA.

"Whilst the global supply chain and freight disruption that has impacted across the industry is expected to persist for at least the remainder of the year, we are pleased to report that the strong sales performance achieved during the first half has continued through Black Friday and into the festive trading period so far. With this momentum, coupled with recent investment into our scaled-up operational and senior management teams, we look forward to continuing In The Style's exciting growth and achieving our long-term vision for the brand."

Enquiries

Notes to Editors

In The Style is a fast-growing digital womenswear fashion brand with an innovative influencer collaboration model.

Founded in 2013 by entrepreneur Adam Frisby, the brand champions female empowerment, inclusivity, body positivity and real beauty.

The brand's innovative and highly adaptable influencer collaboration model, which sees it work with influencers on a long-term basis to collaboratively design, develop and promote branded collections, differentiates it from competitors.

In The Style currently partners with a stable of 15 influencers, including Stacey Solomon, Dani Dyer, Jacqueline Jossa and Billie Faiers. Together they enjoy a combined global social media reach of almost 30m followers.

Strategic Update

H1 Overview

In The Style continued to achieve very strong sales growth during the first half of the financial year, with revenue increasing ahead of the Board's initial expectations for the Period by 38.8% to £29.8m. This very pleasing growth, which was supported by strong trends across our primary operational KPIs including website traffic, customer conversion, average order value and customer order frequency was achieved despite the reopening of physical retail and lifting of social restrictions in the Period, which benefitted the online retail sector in the prior year. When compared to the same period two years ago, In The Style increased its sales by an exceptional 245.5%, which is a great testament not only to the strength and increased profile of our brand, but also the very exciting growth trajectory that the business is on following our successful IPO in the second half of the last financial year.

Despite the very strong top line growth, as previously reported in our AGM Trading Update in September, we did experience some headwinds during the Period which have impacted profitability. Firstly, we have not been immune to the global supply chain and freight disruption that has impacted across the retail sector during recent months. Whilst we continue to seek to utilise the most efficient channels wherever possible to ship product, consistent with many retailers, we experienced increased freight costs and disruption to the timing of shipments, which are expected to remain for at least the remainder of the current financial year. We continue to mitigate the supply chain issues as far as possible through constantly reviewing our sourcing options and product pricing strategies.

In addition, whilst customers have on average been spending more with In The Style - which is a positive reflection of the strength of our product ranges - we experienced a higher than anticipated level of returns during the Period. This was partly driven by the swing in customer demand towards occasionwear and away from the less "fit sensitive" casual ranges that dominated the product mix during the prior year. The returns rate was also impacted by a higher than anticipated growth in sales of our more inclusive size ranges where, again, product fit is paramount.

While we are very encouraged that our brand has proven its appeal to an even broader demographic of customers across both casualwear and occasionwear categories, we also recognise that there are a small number of steps we can take to further optimise this growth. We have already increased investment in our design team and have adjusted our product fit process to better consider more inclusive sizes. We have also enhanced our visibility and speed of returns data, to make sure we can respond even more quickly to any emerging trends going forward. Since the period end, return rates have reduced as expected reflecting the seasonal change in product mix.

As a result of all these factors, EBITDA for the Period was £1.2m (H1 2021: £2.5m), and PBT was £0.9m (H1 2021: £1.8m)

As we look forward to our future and how we continue to build on our strong growth momentum, following the Period end we were delighted to announce the appointment of Sam Perkins, formerly Managing Director of the retail division at The Very Group, as our new CEO with effect from 17 January. Having founded the company and led the business for the last seven years, I have decided to become Chief Brand Officer, a newly created Board level Executive Director role with responsibility for developing the Group's influencer partnerships and the brand's creative direction. Along with the rest of the Board, I believe that with so many opportunities to go for, this is the time to further strengthen our senior management team and Sam is an outstanding executive to bring into our business. He brings relevant experience of scaling up very successful retail brands and his appointment will enable me to focus on the areas of the business where the Board and I believe I can make the biggest contributions to our future success. I'm really looking forward to working closely with Sam to successfully grow this wonderful brand and am incredibly excited about its future.

Strategic Progress

We have a clear growth strategy for the long-term development of In The Style as a leading digital brand in the large, high-growth international female apparel market. This strategy is built on:

·     Continuing to build the In The Style brand by campaigning on issues that are important to us and our customers;

·     Increasing our scale and reach through the expansion of our innovative influencer model;

·     Increasing our investment in brand marketing and growing our relationships with selected partners; and

·     Pursuing other selected growth opportunities including international expansion, extension of own brand sales, branching out into new product categories and potential acquisitions.

This growth strategy is underpinned by our well-invested infrastructure, our talented team of people and our commitment to operating our business responsibly.

During the Period we continued to make strong progress against our long-term growth strategy as well as achieving encouraging trends across our primary operational KPIs:

Continuing to build the In The Style brand

At the core of our strategy is the In The Style brand, which is differentiated in the market as a result of our innovative influencer collaboration model as well as our authentic brand values which champion body confidence, real beauty and female empowerment.

During the Period, In The Style expanded its appeal to a broader customer base by extending its product ranges to incorporate more inclusive sizing options. During the six months, a number of collection launches featured 39 sizing options spanning curve, petite, tall, core and maternity options. This move was received very positively by customers, helping to drive engagement and sales.

During the Period total new customers increased by 3.8%, which was a pleasing outcome achieved against a very strong comparable performance. On a two-year basis, new customers have grown by 88%.

The In The Style App, a key tool for customer engagement and retention, continues to go from strength to strength with a further 500k downloads in the Period and now comprises more than 60% of total sales. Upon the launch of Stacey Solomon's debut collection in April, more than 100,000 customers used the In The Style App, resulting in our App temporarily taking top place on Apple's App Store chart on the day.

Increasing our scale and reach through the expansion of our innovative influencer model

During the first six months of the year, In The Style launched 10 new influencer partnerships including singer and TV personality Stacey Solomon, whose debut collection was amongst the most popular in the brand's history.

Other notable partnership launches include influencer Elle Darby (780k followers) with whom we launched the latest iteration of In The Style's maternity collection in May, and influencers Terrie McEvoy (250k followers) and Lisa Jordan (250k followers) both of whom reflect the Group's expansion plans into the Republic of Ireland. The Group has and continues to identify and select potential partners against criteria that include brand 'fit' and follower engagement as well as overall follower numbers.

Increasing our investment in brand marketing and growing our relationships with selected partners

We delivered outstanding growth of 138.7% in our wholesale channel, which comprises digital partnerships with ASOS, ShopDirect and Lipsy as well as our partnership with ASDA, one of the UK's largest retailers. The agreement, which launched in April, sees selected In The Style collections available at more than 100 stores and has significantly increased exposure for In The Style across a core demographic group aged 25-35. We have been very encouraged by its performance so far.

Furthermore, we are working closely with partner Zalando on a test order basis and are pleased with the very positive trends we are seeing through the platform. We will continue to work together with Zalando to develop a successful long-term relationship.

Pursuing other selected growth opportunities 

In The Style continues to actively pursue other growth opportunities including through the expansion of the brand across new geographies and categories.

The Group made progress against its plans to expand internationally with the launch of a territory specific app and partnerships with two influencers in Ireland, its initial target overseas market. Both partnerships were received well by customers and we will utilise our app and build on these initial launches during the coming months.

Following the Period end, the Group launched the debut In The Style Home collection. The collection, created and launched in partnership with established In The Style collaborator Olivia Bowen, marks the brand's extension into the fast-growing and complementary lifestyle category. Further influencer led Home launches are planned for the start of the new calendar year.

Continued investment in team, technology, and infrastructure

We have continued to invest in our people, infrastructure, and technology to strengthen our foundations for continued growth.

In addition to the appointment of Sam Perkins as CEO, the Group also strengthened the broader senior team during the Period, with new senior hires across product, sustainability, people, and technology teams. This investment in people illustrates our confidence and excitement in the brand's future, as well as the scale of our ambitions.

Following the Period end we were pleased to officially open our new, larger head office in Manchester, which as well as being equipped to support our long-term expansion plans, has brought our head office team back together under one roof following a year of COVID disruption and significant growth.

Operating our business responsibility

As a business we are resolutely focused on operating our business in a way that embodies our values of being brave, being true to ourselves and most importantly being kind both to ourselves and to others.

We are very proud to have continued to raise money for the Samaritans charity, with over £100,000 raised through sales of our Kindness Collection.

Led by our CSR Committee and building on the existing initiatives in place across the business, the Group continues to move forward with our sustainability roadmap which has been developed further grouping initiatives under three main pillars being People, Planet and Community.

We continue to make rapid progress against the recommendations outlined in the independent supply chain review undertaken pre the IPO by Anthesis with 80% of all priority recommendations now complete and the remaining 20% currently in work. Anthesis are engaged with the business on an ongoing basis to provide advice and additional expert resource to complement our in-house team.

Outlook

Since the end of the Period and through the important Black Friday and December trading period so far, the business has continued to perform well with direct-to-consumer sales continuing their strong growth trajectory.

The business has again capitalised on demand for seasonal products with Christmas pyjama launches via our influencers being a firm customer favourite. As anticipated, sales to wholesale partners have been lower than the prior year since the period end reflecting the phasing of orders, however the Group remains confident in achieving continued progress through this channel in the second half.

As previously indicated by the Group, industry-wide global supply chain disruption and increased associated costs are expected to continue through at least the second half of the year. We continue to actively manage these external challenges as far as is possible and, so far, have successfully amended collection launch timings and deliveries into wholesale partners to minimise disruption. Detailed plans are in place to mitigate the longer-term cost impact of these external headwinds through both sourcing and product pricing initiatives.

We continue to take actions to improve the returns rate, including improving the fitting process. Since the Period end, return rates have reduced in line with expectations reflecting the seasonal change in the product mix, and we are confident of achieving a lower underlying returns rate over the medium term.

A further two influencer partnerships have successfully launched since the Period end, extending the Group's differentiated collaboration model and building on the positive momentum achieved during the first half. Of particular note is the launch of the In The Style People's Collection, created in collaboration with TV presenter Alison Hammond, who enjoys a social media following of more than one million. This collection, which has been well received by customers, is the brand's most inclusive to date, having involved customers every step of the way through consulting on silhouettes, prints and colour palettes of the collection. In addition, we were pleased to launch our first ever homewear collection in collaboration with Olivia Bowen.

Notwithstanding the industry-wide supply chain disruption that is expected to continue into the second half, the Board remains very confident in achieving the Group's growth plans and the brand's very exciting potential. This is underpinned by the strength of In The Style's differentiated business model and distinctive brand as well as the investments made in the Group's leadership team and infrastructure in recent periods.

Financial Review

Year on Year Performance

Group Overview

Following the Group's successful IPO in March 2021, the first six months of the current financial year saw significant growth and progress achieved across a number of key strategic objectives.

The rapid trading rhythm of the business continued with multiple product launches each week ensuring newness and interest for In The Style customers and helped to drive new customers and repeat order frequency.

Revenue for the Period increased by 38.8% to £29.8m (H1 2021: £21.5m) and increased by 245.5% when compared to H1 2020 representing a two year compound annual growth rate of 86%.

EBITDA, a non-GAAP metric used by the Board to provide a meaningful analysis of trading results, decreased to £1.2m from £2.5m in H1 2021 and compares to a loss of £0.6m in H1 2020. Reported Operating Profit decreased to £0.9m from £2.0m in H1 2021 and compares to a loss of £0.9m in H1 2020. Cash at the Period end amounted to £9.9m.

Revenue

Revenue across the Group's direct-to-consumer e-commerce channel, which comprises sales through the Group's e-commerce website and proprietary app, performed well, increasing 23.4% to £23.0m and 191% when compared to H1 2020.

Underlying demand, represented by 'Gross Order Value' or gross sales pre returns, increased year on year by 48.0%, the dilution in growth at a net revenue level being the result of higher returns rates driven predominantly by the product mix change away from casual wear to occasion wear.

Headline sales growth was supported by increases in all of the main e-commerce KPIs including: Visits (+7.6%); Conversion (+26bps); and Average Order Value ("AOV") (+25.8%). 

In spite of the tough 'lock-down' comparatives, new customer numbers grew by 3.8% compared with the same period in the prior year, with 243,000 customers transacting with the In The Style brand for the first time.

The continued frequency of new product launches and investment in customer relationship management ("CRM") activity has ensured that alongside the growth in customer acquisition, order frequency has also increased.

The In The Style proprietary app continued to go from strength to strength during the period with more than 500,000 app downloads.  As a result, sales through the app increased to represent 63% of total e-commerce sales, compared to 55% in H1 2021. Alongside significant conversion rate benefits, the app provides a fantastic platform to communicate with our most engaged customer group.

Wholesale sales to third-party retailers is an important element of the In The Style growth strategy. The brand's presence on high profile digital retail platforms such as ASOS, Shop Direct and Lipsy and in physical retail environments through the partnership with grocery retailer ASDA provides a profitable revenue stream and access to a broader customer base, thereby increasing brand awareness. Revenue from this channel increased by 138.7% to £6.9m versus £2.9m for the same period in the prior year.

Gross Margin

Gross Margin, at 47.1%, reduced 372bps compared to the same period in the prior year, impacted by a higher proportion of wholesale sales in the overall mix, industry wide freight cost increases and higher return rates.

E-commerce Gross Margin during the year decreased 58bps to 55.2% (H1 21: 55.7%), as increases in freight charges and the impact of higher rates of returns were offset to an extent by the higher proportion of sales of occasion wear, which typically carry a higher margin compared with the increased consumer demand for more casual products we saw during the prior lockdown period.

Wholesale Gross Margins improved year on year to 19.9% (H1 21: 18.7%), reflecting an increased mix of full price sales. Whilst wholesale Gross Margins are lower than those of direct-to-consumer e-commerce sales, the management and fulfilment of wholesale channel orders leverages much of the existing In The Style team and infrastructure.

Operating Costs

Total Operating Costs increased 47.8% year on year to £13.1m. This represents an increase as a percentage of Net Revenue from 41% in the prior year to 44%, driven predominantly by the increased returns rate. Excluding the impact of returns, Operating Costs reduced slightly as a percentage of gross sales year on year.

Distribution costs increased to £5.5m (H1 2021: £3.7m). This was due to the increased volume of product sold during the year. As a percentage of Revenue year on year, the increased cost of processing the higher level of returns was offset by the lower costs associated with the distribution of wholesale orders, which accounted for a higher proportion of the Revenue mix.

Administration costs increased to £7.7m (H1 2021: £5.2m). Within this, marketing costs increased by £1.8m versus the same period in the prior year. This was driven by a combination of sales commissions reflecting the growth in influencer sales in the Period and digital, outreach and 'shoot' costs supporting the increased brand reach and order frequency. Other Administration costs increased by £0.7m, being a combination of the strengthening of the management team, technology and additional costs of being a listed business following the Group's IPO.

Finance costs

Finance costs of £0.01m were incurred during the Period, much reduced on the prior period (H1 2021: £0.2m) due to the elimination of interest-bearing preference shares in the re-structure prior to the IPO in March 2021.

Balance Sheet and Cashflow

Net assets increased to £12.1m at 30 September 2021, compared with net liabilities of £0.8m at 30 September 2020. This reflects the strengthening of the Balance Sheet following the successful IPO in March 2021.

Inventories increased by £1.2m to £3.4m, representing 4.8 weeks cover (excluding 'right of return inventory'). Trade and other receivables increased by £3.6m to £6.0m. Both balances reflect the growth in both the direct to consumer and wholesale channels.

Total liabilities reduced to £10.9m (H1 2021: £11.7m), reflecting the reduction in borrowings of £3.1m for the Preference share balance under the pre-IPO capital structure. This was offset by increased creditor balances as a result of the growth in the business.

Net cash at the Period end amounted to £9.9m. This compares to a balance of £4.3m at 30 September 2020 and £11.9m at the year ended 31 March 2021.

Net cashflow from operating activities since the year ended 31 March 2021 was an outflow of £1.5m, the variance being in the main due to an increase in working capital given the growth in trade debtors as a result of the expansion of the wholesale channel.

Investment in technology and infrastructure continued accounting for £0.5m of the total capital spend in the period of £0.7m.

Paul Masters

Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer

Unaudited group statement of total comprehensive income

For the period ended 30 September 2021

Unaudited group statement of financial position

As at 30 September 2021

Unaudited group statement of changes in equity

For the year ended 31 March 2021

Unaudited group cash flow statement

For the period ended 30 September 2021

Notes to the Group financial statements

1.  General information

The principal activity of In The Style Group plc ("the Company") is that of a holding company and the principal activity of the Company and its subsidiaries (the "Group") is that of an online clothing retailer. The Company was incorporated on 4 March 2021 and is a public company limited by shares registered in England & Wales. The registered office of the Company is Unit 5 Olympic Court, Salford, England, M50 2QP. The Company registration number is 13245400.  The company is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.

A copy of the audited annual statutory accounts for the group and the Half Yearly report can be found on the company's Website https://corporate.inthestyle.com/investors.

2. Basis of preparation

The interim financial information for In the Style Group plc and its subsidiaries (together the "Group") for the six months ended 30 September 2021, which are unaudited, have been prepared in accordance with the recognition and measurement principles of International Financial Reporting Standards ('IFRS') and the accounting policies adopted by the Group as set out in the Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2021.  The Directors do not anticipate any changes in these accounting policies for the year ended 31 March 2022.

The unaudited interim financial information has been prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention.  The unaudited interim financial information is presented in pounds sterling and all values are rounded to the nearest thousand pounds (£'000), except where otherwise indicated.  The interim financial information does not constitute statutory accounts for the purposes of section 434 of the Companies Act 2006.  The statutory accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and the auditor's report on those accounts was unqualified, did not draw attention to any matters by way of emphasis, and did not contain a statement under 498(2) or 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006.

This unaudited interim financial information has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the AIM Rules for Companies and in accordance with the basis of preparation.

3.  Segmental analysis

The Chief Operating Decision Maker ("CODM") has been identified as the Board of Directors. The Board reviews internal reporting in order to assess performance and allocate resources. The Board has determined that there are two operating segments, being wholesale and e-commerce clothing retailing.

In view of the growth in wholesale revenue in the year ended 30 September 2021, the CODM are now monitoring the two operating segments separately.

There are no sales between the two operating segments, and all revenue is earned from external customers. The operating segments gross profit is reconciled to profit before taxation as per the statement of total comprehensive income.

The Group's overheads are managed centrally by the Board and consequently there is no reconciliation to profit before tax at a segmental level.

The Group's assets are managed centrally by the Board and consequently there is no reconciliation between the Group's assets per the statement of financial position and the segment assets

Analysis of revenue by geographical destination

The above revenues are all generated from contracts with customers and are recognised at a point in time. All assets of the Group reside in the UK

4. Profit per share

Basic profit/(loss) per share is calculated by dividing the net profit/(loss) for the year attributable to ordinary equity holders after tax by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the year.

Diluted profit/(loss) per share is not calculated as there are no potential dilutive instruments in issue.

The basic and diluted calculations are both based on the following:

5. Post balance sheet events

On the 12^th November 2021 the appointment of Sam Perkins as Group CEO was announced.  Adam Frisby the founder and existing CEO also announced he would be transitioning into a newly formed role of Chief Brand Officer.  These appointments will enable the Group to deliver the next stages of its long-term growth objectives.

In addition, the group formally re-located their office staff to new premises in Manchester on the 22^nd of October 2021.