A shift to online sales helped protect the group behind outdoor and leisure clothing company Regatta from being hit harder by the Covid-19 pandemic during its latest financial year, new documents show.
Manchester-headquartered Risol Imports has reported a turnover of £222.8m for the 12 months to January 31, 2021, up from £214.2m during the prior year.
Its pre-tax profits dipped from £13m to £9.5m over the same period.
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The company was founded by Lionel Black in 1981 and is still run by the family.
Outside of the UK, the group operates branches in Bangladesh, Czech Republic and Slovakia in addition to its overseas subsidiaries.
A statement signed off by the board said: "The directors are pleased to report growth in turnover of 4% to £222.9m for the financial year.
"The online sales have made [a] significant increase in both values and proportion by sales channel to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 and the temporary closure of retail stores during lockdown periods.
"During the course of the year the group continued to progress a number of important long-term projects to support the on-going growth of the business and to prepare for any changes that may emerge as a result of Brexit.
"The group has also met several milestones in relation to the on-going project to update the group's core IT systems.
"The nature of the weather continues to be an important factor affecting results for the coming year, to some extent mitigated by an expanding market base."
