TOM TAILOR Holding AG experienced accelerated growth in the third quarter following the completion of the BONITA takeover as of 1 August 2012.The Group has become a high-growth European fashion retailer with more than 1,250 stores and around 6,100 employees.With two strong brands the Group serves a broad target group ranging in age from 0 to 60.
'A new era began for TOM TAILOR in the third quarter,as BONITA officially became part of our Group in August.In our anniversary year,we do not only look back on five decades of success with our TOM TAILOR brand,but have also taken a decisive step forward in terms of the Group's future development.BONITA and TOM TAILOR are two firmly established brands in Germany and Europe with collections that appeal to a wide range of consumers.In the third quarter,our Group achieved a 60%increase in sales and reported a gross margin of around 51%.This gives us a first idea on the potential of our expanded Group and its ability to generate value,'said Dieter Holzer,Chairman of the Management Board(CEO)of TOM TAILOR Holding AG.
The Group increased its sales by 60.8%to EUR 190.7 million in the third quarter(Q3 2011:EUR 118.6 million).Due to the consolidation of BONITA for the months of August and September,the comparability of the Q3 figures with prior-year results is limited.In the retail business,TOM TAILOR Group generated total sales of EUR 107.9 million with its brands TOM TAILOR and BONITA.The Retail business thus accounted for 57%of Group sales.The TOM TAILOR retail stores including the e-shop contributed sales of EUR 50.6 million(Q3 2011:EUR 39.3 million)and BONITA contributed EUR 57.3 million to this positive development.On a like-for-like basis,the Group's retail business grew by 3.9%and the TOM TAILOR retail segment was even more dynamic,achieving like-for-like growth of 16.2%.
While BONITA sells its fashion in its own stores only,TOM TAILOR draws on trade and franchise partners to sell its fashion,in addition to using its own store network.Sales of TOM TAILOR's wholesale segment increased by 4.4%to EUR 82.8 million in the third quarter.Wholesale thereby accounted for 43%of overall Group sales.At the end of September,the number of TOM TAILOR shop-in-shops had risen to 1,979(31.12.2011:1,786),while the number of franchise stores was up to 167(31.12.2011:155).
During the first nine months TOM TAILOR Group achieved a sales increase of 34.9%to EUR 398.5 million(9M 2011:EUR 295.3 million).This development is primarily attributable to TOM TAILOR's organic growth.In addition,the first-time consolidation of BONITA as of August 1 also contributed to the sales increase.Sales in TOM TAILOR's retail business grew by 32.5%to EUR 136.2 million(9M 2011:EUR 102.8 million),and was very much influenced by the systematic expansion of the controlled selling space.As part of this expansion,TOM TAILOR has increased the number of own retail stores by 35 to 283 since the start of the year.
