The CEO of Debenhams Group has said the company’s turnaround strategy has reached an ‘inflection point’ after the online retailer announced it had returned to growth.
Debenhams Group – which is made up of Debenhams, Karen Millen, boohoo, MAN and PLT – reported group GMV (gross merchandise value) up 0.5 per cent year-on-year.
May trading was particularly strong with GMV growth of around 8 per cent.
Performance was most notable across the Debenhams brand and PrettyLittleThing, with improvements also achieved in Boohoo, BoohooMan and Karen Millen.
The return to growth has been supported by materially improved profitability and significantly improved cashflows.
The board is confident it will deliver double digit Adjusted EBITDA growth and free cash flow in FY27.
Dan Finley, group CEO, said: “Debenhams Group has returned to growth, and Q1 marks the inflection point we have been working towards.
“Group GMV grew 0.5 per cent year-on-year – with May trading particularly strong at around 8 per cent, led by the Debenhams brand and PrettyLittleThing.
“This is the result of the heavy lifting of our multi-year turnaround: the move to an asset light marketplace model, the warehouse consolidation, the cost reset, and the rebuild of every brand on a single proprietary platform.
“That work is now translating into materially improved profitability, with adjusted EBITDA margin expanding and a substantial increase in adjusted EBITDA in the period, alongside significantly improved cashflows.
“With the cost out ahead of plan and strong momentum carried into the year, the board’s confidence has grown and we are reiterating our guidance of double-digit Adjusted EBITDA growth in FY27.”