Mamas & Papas losses rise, hurt by wholesale weakness

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jan 4, 2018

Weaker revenue and the fall in the pound after the EU referendum have contributed to widening pre-tax losses at British nursery brand Mamas & Papas.

In a financial report the company reported pre-tax losses increased to £12.3 million in the year to 26 March 2017, from £6.6m the prior year.

It attributed the widening to a decline in wholesale revenue, which sent its turnover down by more than £11 million to £121.1 million, compared with annual turnover of from £132.7m in financial 2015/16.

In the retail business, like-for-like sales in continuing stores grew by 6%, while ecommerce was also up 8% and now represents 28% of all retail sales.

During the year, the company invested £1m in its store estate to open two new stores in Liverpool and London, and spent £700,000 on the development of its ecommerce site. A further £300,000 was invested in product development.

Mamas and Papas’ results join those of rival mother-and-baby products specialist Mothercare, which announced in November pre-tax losses of £0.7 million for the 28 weeks to October 7. The leading UK nursery brand blamed the challenging UK consumer backdrop, with lower footfall  and spent, for its struggle, but said its transformation is moving forward as it sharpens its focus on its omnichannel strategy.