Tendam’s total revenues for the financial year 2021 were up 43.3% to €1,113.4 million, with consistent growth across all channels and brands. The digital channel, which now accounts for almost 19% of total sales in Spain, grew by 30.4%.

Adjusted EBITDA for the period stood at €277.2m, almost double the EBITDA posted for FY 2020.

The new brands launched in 2021 and the multi-brand, omni-channel platform posted positive EBITDA in their first year of operations, underscoring the profitability of the strategic model.

EBIT for the period stood at €122m, approaching the record high achieved pre-Covid in 2019.

Gross margin was a healthy 62%, an improvement on the 61.3% registered in 2020 and in line with 2019 figures, successfully absorbing inflationary pressure and supply chain disruptions.

Robust cash generation allowed Tendam to repay its ICO-backed loan early in full, paying down pre-NIIF 16 net debt to €373.8m and slashing its net debt to EBITDA ratio to 2.4x. S&P Global and Moody’s upgraded their ratings to ‘B+’ and ‘B1’ respectively, both with a stable outlook.

The number of loyalty club members increased by 9% to total over 30 million.

The company has already hit 30% more sustainable garments and has brought its 50% target forward to the short term.

This strong performance has allowed Tendam to recover to record-high, pre-pandemic 2019 levels, evidencing the success of the growth initiatives outlined under the Tendam 5.0 transformation plan.

The company has kicked off its financial year 2022 with an outstanding Q1 performance in both sales and EBITDA.

Tendam Brands, Tendam’s parent company and one of Europe’s leading omni-channel fashion retailers, has announced today its results for the period from 1 March 2021 through 28 February 2022, corresponding to the company’s 2021-22 financial year.

Tendam President and CEO Jaume Miquel said: “2021 was an extremely positive year for Tendam. We successfully achieved robust progress in our transformation agenda, building an unparalleled, omni-channel retail ecosystem which is profitable, offers strong growth potential, and fully integrates all of Tendam’s core social and sustainability values. We intend to continue growing the business in 2022 with enhanced profitability and  a more prominent weighting of the digital business, with a 100% omni-channel approach.”

Tendam’s total revenues for the twelve-month period running from March 2021 to February 2022 were up by an impressive 43.3% year-on-year to stand at €1,113.4 million. On a like-for-like basis, sales were up 22.9% versus 2020 and down just 0.3% versus 2019. Revenues were up across all channels in 2021: in addition to the 30.4% growth posted by the digital channel, sales in directly-operated physical stores were up by 45.9% and the franchise business also put in a robust performance.

All of the Group’s own brands posted year-on-year sales growth of at least 30%. Cortefiel y Pedro del Hierro, which was hit hardest by Covid-19, generated the strongest growth in sales at 55%, and Women’secret also continued to outperform.

Digital sales were up significantly by 30.4% versus 2020 and 95.6% versus 2019. All of Tendam’s online stores continued to enjoy impressive year-on-year growth, particularly CTF (+49%), Fifty (+38%) y Springfield (+27%). At year-end, the digital business represented 18.8% of total sales in Spain.

Jaume Miquel highlighted “the crucial importance of Tendam’s omni-channel model, under which the e-commerce business generated 22% of the Group’s EBITDA over the financial year and the physical store network acts as logistics and sales hub which is seamlessly linked to the digital business.”

Of the 1,805 physical points of sale, 1,200 are directly-operated, affording an extensive, omni-channel network which is seamlessly connected to the digital business and receives over 200 million visitors a year. The Group’s eight websites and apps receive 150 million visitors a year and generate 22% of its total EBITDA.

The company secured a robust gross margin of 62% for the financial year 2021, up 0.7 percentage points versus the 61.3% registered in 2020 and back in line with pre-pandemic levels. Tendam achieved this healthy gross margin thanks to its effective positioning and active management of promotional activity, as well as its capacity to absorb the impact of current inflation levels and supply chain disruptions.

Adjusted EBITDA totalled €277.2m, almost double the €145.8m achieved in FY 2020. The EBITDA margin stood at 24.9%. Tendam posted EBIT (Earnings before Interest and Taxes) of €122m in financial year 2021, recovering to the region of the pre-Covid, 2019 record high of €122.6m.

The strategic growth initiatives launched over the course of the year through the Tendam 5.0 plan performed particularly well in this area. The new own brands launched in 2021 (Hoss Intropia, Slowlove and High Spirits) posted positive EBITDA in their first year. After year-end 2021, the company launched its ninth own brand (Dash and Stars) and is incubating even more new brands to debut over the course of financial year 2022. The Group’s multi-brand digital platform closed the tax year with positive EBITDA and more than 100 third-party brands to complement Tendam’s own omni-channel portfolio. These new strategic growth initiatives accounted for 8% of the group’s growth.

At the end of the financial year, the Group’s cash position amounted to €347.7m, up from €279.6m in 2019 and down by just €10.5m versus 2020, even after paying off the entire ICO-backed loan of €132.5m ahead of schedule in Q4 2022. Tendam consolidated its higher liquidity levels, paying down net debt to €373.8m (pre-NIIF 16) and generating a substantial improvement in its net debt to EBITDA ratio, which closed FY 2021 at 2.4x.

At the end of the tax year, S&P Global upgraded Tendam’s rating to B+ with a stable outlook, highlighting the company’s robust recovery and successful efforts to pare down debt levels. After year-end, Moody’s also upgraded its rating for the company, to B1 with a stable outlook, commending its strong 2021 operating results and its substantially better-than-expected credit metrics, which have recovered almost to pre-pandemic levels.

The number of loyalty club members of Tendam’s brands continued to rise steadily to stand at 30.2 million. Over the last twelve months, another 2.5 million members joined the loyalty programme. The percentage of sales in Tendam own brand stores by loyalty club members was up by 2.9 percentage points between March 2021 and February 2022 to total 76.6% at year-end.

In 2021, Tendam achieved the milestone of 30% more sustainable garments and has now brought its 50% target forward to the short term. Over the year, practically all denim finishing procedures by Tendam brands have entailed low water usage, with responsible denim washing processes and ozone or laser technology treatment techniques, which minimise the environmental impact of production.

The company has been recognised for its ESG and climate change strategy. Ecovadis upgraded Tendam’s classification from Silver to Gold, positioning it among the top 4% of the highest-scoring companies. In the global Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Tendam climbed to a rating of A- in climate, outperforming the retail sector average of B-, and is now among the 25% of companies to secure this leadership position in the sector.

Tendam also approved its 2nd Equality Plan last year, which outlines its core targets and corresponding lines of action to guarantee equal opportunities across every area of the company. The very slim gender salary gap stood at 0.8%, improving on the results for 2020.