Beaverbrooks Turnover Provides Stable Foundation for Future Investment
18 Sep 2023
National family-owned jewellery, diamond and watch retailer, Beaverbrooks has announced a record turnover of £225m in its latest accounts (March 2022 to February 2023), an increase of 11.4 per cent on the previous year.
Despite the effects of the cost-of-living crisis and uncertain economic times continuing to impact UK businesses, the 104-year-old retailer has been able to continue to invest in its people and estate across its last financial year and into this one.
A strong performance against a difficult backdrop has also continued into this year as turnover at the halfway point of its current financial year (March 2023 to August 2023) is also up 3.1 per cent at over £107.2m.
As futureproofing the business and protecting jobs continues to take precedence for the retailer, the gross profit margin reduced to 17.1 per cent from 21.6 per cent as it prioritised investment in its estate, people and charity across the financial year.
Putting profit back into the retailer’s estate was a key priority in its last financial year, with £14.5m invested into enhancing its infrastructure. This included the refitting and expansion of a number of stores to provide an enhanced shopping experience for customers, as well as the unveiling of four new dedicated luxury Swiss watch boutiques in the key locations of Cambridge, Norwich, Glasgow and the West Midlands.
Investment in stores and infrastructure has continued to be a priority, with over £7m being spent on estate expansion this year to date, taking the total number of stores and watch boutiques to 85. This has included four store refits and dedicated luxury watch boutique openings in York, Leeds, Derby and Reading, which have provided shoppers with an opportunity to consult with experts in dedicated environments when making special purchases of diamonds and luxury watches.
The business has put its success down to a continued commitment to putting people at the heart of its strategy, ensuring profit is reinvested in its purpose of enriching lives and making a positive difference to customers, colleagues and their communities.
To support business performance, investment has been made in the training and development of teams across the UK, in addition to growing the number of colleagues by 10 per cent to 1,165 employees. The celebration of colleagues’ contributions to the success of the business has also been shown through the continuation of performance bonuses, cost-of-living support, and pay rises for teams.
The company’s commitment to its people also resulted in a number of accolades being awarded to the business. This includes the Happiest Place to Work For in the UK at the Retail Week Awards 2023, as well as Best Retailer to Work For and 6th Best Company to Work For in the 2022 Best Companies Awards.
Beaverbrooks has continued to prioritise support for charities in the UK and internationally, donating £2.57m to registered charities and community groups during its financial year. The retailer also supports 46% of the team who donate through Payroll Giving with 100% match-funded donations to support their favourite charities. In addition, the business made over £250,000 available for colleagues to donate a share to make a positive difference to local causes close to their communities’ hearts.
Anna Blackburn, the managing director of Beaverbrooks who is celebrating 10 years since becoming the first female, non-family member to lead the business, said,
“We are delighted to share another year of strong financial results and are so proud of our people who have worked hard to achieve such amazing success. Without their commitment to providing exceptional levels of customer service, we would not have been able to make the same level of investment into our people and estate that we did last year.
“We also want to thank our customers for their continued loyalty through these difficult times and continue to be committed to providing the best value, choice, quality and expertise when they are making special purchases for their engagements, weddings and gifting needs.
“In my 10 years leading Beaverbrooks and 25 years in total working here, I have learned an immense amount about listening to our people, planning and remaining agile with strategy as the retail landscape changes and faces difficulties. Another year of strong financial success demonstrates that treating people well makes business sense and adds value to the bottom line. We look forward to continuing to use this success to put profit back into our teams and estate to provide the best service for our customers.”
Mark Adlestone OBE DL, Chairman of Beaverbrooks, said,
“As a family-owned business, enriching lives and making positive changes to the world is in our DNA, and this is reflected in every decision we make as a company. By staying true to our values, we have been able to deliver financial success and invest in our people and our infrastructure. We are able to protect jobs during uncertain times and ensure we are paying our people fairly, as well as paying bonuses to colleagues who are performing to a high standard. It has also meant we have been able to donate over £2.57m to charities at a time when it is needed most.
“I am extremely proud to see that the fantastic work of our teams across the UK has led us to another strong year of financial success and I am confident our teamwork will help us continue to grow as a business.”
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Source: Beaverbrooks