Annual sales up 10.2pc for Angling Direct
Fishing tackle group Angling Direct, which has just opened a new shop in Cannock, saw sales rise 10.2 per cent in its latest financial year.
For the 12 months to the end of January they were up from £74.1 million to £81.7m
The shop at The Graduation Centre, Walsall Road, opened after the start of the new financial year on February 10.
Final results for the year will be released on May 14 when the board expects to report overall trading in line with market expectations.
UK sales in 2023-2024 were up nine per cent to £77.4m. Shop sales, including from those in Halesowen and Willenhall, grew 7.6 per cent to £44.4m and online sales rose 13.5per cent to £37.2m with the UK up 11 per cent to £32.9m.
Since the group’s last update in October, trading has been robust despite the challenging consumer landscape and disruption to fishing caused by named storm events in the final few weeks of the financial year.
During the year the number of shops increased from from 45 to 47 .
Steve Crowe, chief executive of Angling Direct, said: “Angling Direct has continued to gain market share in the UK and Europe, and we believe there are significant further growth opportunities in both markets. The group will continue to invest in its digital and physical footprint in the UK to capture further market share growth, leveraging its strong balance sheet to ensure it is competitively placed as consumer confidence returns.
"Since the period end, the UK business has completed one small footprint store acquisition in Crewe and opened one new store in Cannock, alongside committing substantial capital investment to an automated customer order packaging solution for the UK distribution centre.
“The European market creates a significantly larger addressable market, but remains highly competitive, driven by even more intense price competition. Despite this, the group delivered strong growth, whilst retaining pricing discipline, leading to further market share gains, which provides the board with confidence that its European strategy remains appropriate. The group’s prudent investment strategy will be maintained to ensure it is well positioned once markets and consumer confidence stabilise. In January 2024 we committed to our first European store in Utrecht in The Netherlands. The store is scheduled to open during the spring fishing season."
