Mountain Warehouse profits climb on back of UK cycling craze

Mountain Warehouse has thrived by tapping into the growing popularity of family-friendly discounters such as Lidl and B&M Photograph: Mountain Warehouse

Outdoor clothing chain Mountain Warehouse is cashing in on the cycling craze and planning to open 40 new stores this year after profits rose by a quarter in 2014. The hiking and sports gear retailer, which operates from high-street locations rather than retail parks, increased sales by 20% to £110m in the year to March, boosting profits by 25% to £12m. Sales at established outlets shot up 9%, but cycling and running gear were the top performers, with sales up 43% and around 50,000 high-visibility cycling jackets flying off the rails.

Mark Neale, Mountain Warehouse’s founder and chief executive, said: “We are scaling new heights, in our stores, online, and increasingly overseas. We have delivered another record-breaking year helped by the UK cycling craze. We have continued to thrive in a challenging UK retail environment, demonstrating that high-street retail can succeed so long as you have the right products at the right price.” He said that sales were continuing to show the same “positive momentum”.

Mountain Warehouse has thrived while rivals including Millets have come under pressure by tapping into the growing popularity of family-friendly discounters which has also boosted shops such as B&M, Home Bargains, Aldi and Lidl.

Founded in 1997 with a single store in Swindon, the chain now has more than 200 stores, including 10 in Poland and one in Germany. Neale, a former management consultant and Oxford physics graduate, set up Mountain Warehouse with £40,000 after stints trying to set up a toy chain and a greetings card business.

Despite only beginning to trade online in the past few years, Mountain Warehouse now sells to 130 countries. Online sales rose 50% last year. The company will launch a dedicated German-language website this year and open more stores in Germany and Poland. More than half of the group’s planned 40 new stores this year will open in the UK, however. Outlets in garden centres have been a significant area of growth in the UK, with six opening in the past year.