LONDON – Despite Omicron, supply-chain woes, and Russia’s war in Ukraine, revenues at Selfridges‘ 4 U.K. stores jumped 29 percent to 843.7 million kilos within the fiscal 12 months ended Jan. 28, 2023, while pre-tax losses narrowed.

Based on probably the most recent filings on Corporations House, the official registry of U.K. businesses, shoppers flooded back into Selfridges’ stores, particularly the flagship on Oxford Street in London and the unit at Royal Exchange, Manchester, once the Omicron strain of COVID-19 receded and lockdown restrictions eased.

The uptick in sales helped contribute to the reduction in pre-tax losses to 37.9 million kilos from 121.5 million kilos within the previous period. Much of the corporate’s cost base is resulting from property, and Selfridges said that an increase in finance costs was offset by a decline in rental expenses through the period.

No dividends were paid within the 12 months compared with 80 million kilos within the prior period.

Fiscal 2022 was a 12 months of transition for Selfridges, with latest owners Central Group and Signa finalizing their purchase of the 4 Selfridges stores within the U.K.; Brown Thomas and Arnotts within the Republic of Ireland; and De Bijenkorf within the Netherlands.

The partners purchased the Selfridges group of stores for a reported 4 billion kilos from the Weston family, and have since loaded the business with greater than 1.7 billion kilos in debt, the results of rising rates of interest.

Within the Corporations House statement, principals said Selfridges was well-financed and that future investment could be funnelled into the retail store estate and ecommerce.

The sweetness hall at Selfridges Oxford Street store has been undergoing a large-scale renovation, with the primary phase revealed to the general public earlier this week.

Selfridges has said it wants the Oxford Street Beauty Hall to be home to state-of-the-art and sustainable in-store experiences. Your entire hall is resulting from be finished in spring 2024.

As reported, the shop can also be within the midst of a consultation period ahead of a staff restructuring that would lead to layoffs.

The corporate said it’s taking a look at how its head office, including some small retail teams that support the stores, are organized “to best deliver for our customers.” The corporate said that the shop and restaurant team members usually are not a part of the review.