Pre-tax profits surged at a Manchester-based online beauty products retailer in the year before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, new documents have revealed.
Beauty Bay has reported profits of £4.4m for the 12 months to March 31, 2020, up from the £917,866 it achieved in the prior year.
The company's turnover went from £87.7m to £82.2m over the same period.
The business, which was founded in 1999, offers makeup, skincare, bath and body, haircare, gifts and other accessories.
A statement signed off by the board said: "The reduction in turnover being the result of a strategic review of peak trading activity to focus on a reduction in volumes sold versus the prior year but delivering greater trading margins on those lower volumes as the company focused on delivering improved profitability for the year.
"The group continues to invest in its digital platforms to deliver ongoing capability to adapt to changing market conditions and enable it to maintain differentiation in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
"The digital team have continued to focus on ensuring the security, stability and resiliency of the core e-commerce platform to provide the necessary scale to meet increasing consumer expectations and trading demand.
"The group has invested heavily over recent years to build a robust and agile infrastructure which enabled it to react in a positive manner to the effects of Covid-19.
"The group was able to quickly mobilise all staff to work from home in the week prior to the official lockdown in March and, where possible, all out employees worked from home.
"The group has traded positively during the Covid-19 period and has continued to invest for growth throughout this period."
