The flagship Victoria Secrets store in Dublin clocked up average daily revenues of €64,666 in its first 60 days of opening here.
That is according to new accounts for the Grafton Street store which show that the business enjoyed bumper sales in the first two months of opening in December 2017.
The store was opened to much fanfare with a queue of over 500 shoppers - mainly women - waiting outside the 2,700 sq metre store on December 5, 2017.
As the ribbon was cut at 10am on December 5th, patient Victoria Secrets enthusiasts were chanting ‘VS Dublin’ and that enthusiasm has translated into hard cash for the lingerie retailer.
New accounts for L Brands Fashion Retail Reland Ltd show that the business enjoyed revenues of €3.88m between opening day on December 5 last to February 3 of this year.
This translates to average weekly sales of €456,470 per week or €64,666 per day taking into account the store’s closure for Christmas Day during the period.
The Victoria Secrets business enjoys a global profile boosted by its annual Victoria Secrets show featuring Victoria Secrets models, Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Adriana Lima and Gigi Hadid.
The Grafton St store business recorded an operating profit of €389,000 in the year to February 3rd last and interest payments of €381,000 resulted in a modest pre-tax profit of €8,000.
Along with lingerie, the store sells beauty and personal care products and accessories under the Victoria Secret and Victoria’s Secret PINK retail brands.
With late night opening to 9pm and 10pm most nights of the week currently at the store, the directors state that they are seeking opportunities to maximise sales in Ireland.
The US retailer is in the high profile retail location previously enjoyed by BT2 and the new accounts show that the retailer spent €2.076m -or €39,169 per week - on lease costs over the 53 week period.
However, the rental costs for the Grafton Street store will represent only loose change for the global L Brands business which enjoys worldwide sales of $12.63bn in the 53 weeks to the end of February 3rd 2018.
The company operates 3,075 company-owned speciality stores in the United States, Canada, the UK, China and here and its brands are sold in more than 800 additional franchised locations worldwide.
The accounts show that on May 12th of this year, the business received a cash injection of €12m from its parent firm and receiving a cash injection of €4.5m in the 12 months to the end of January 2017.
On February 3rd last year, the company had shareholder funds of €4.5m while its cash pile totalled €13m. The value of the firm’s tangible assets had increased from €1.67m to €20.6m last year.
The directors’ report for the Dublin firm states that the principal risk faced by the company is the ability to effectively execute day to day store operations in accordance with company instructions to satisfy customer demand.
IT states that the company must focus on retaining and developing the best talent to ensure that it effectively supports the business and meets customer needs.
