Varley Records $44 Million in Financial Results and Opens King’s Road Store
LONDON — With big year-over-year numbers comes retail opportunities, at least for Varley, opening its first flagship store on the King’s Road in London.
The brand’s financial year ends next month, and it is expected to accumulate $44 million.
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The brand is on track to reach $75 next year, according to a spokesperson for the brand.
Varley’s direct-to-consumer business has increased by 130 percent year-over-year, with the wholesale channel up 50 percent. Direct-to-consumer makes up 40 percent of the company’s revenue.
The brand’s London store spans 2,971 square feet and the space will be decorated with artwork by female artists such as Josefin Tolstoy, Nuria Maria, Victoria Achache, Annie Griffiths and Hannah Ludlow.
“London is our top-performing city, followed by New York. We really wanted to be close for the start of our retail business, this is our first store globally,” Lara Mead, cofounder of the brand with her husband Ben, told WWD.
“We have plans for one [store] more in Mayfair and 10 to 15 stores in the U.S. in the next 24 to 36 months,” she added.
The founders are honing down on the details by working with FlowerBx for the store’s flowers and Sharland England for the candles.
Fans of the brand include Jennifer Aniston and Jessica Alba, as well as former First Lady of the U.S. Michelle Obama.
The reason the Meads chose King’s Road was because three quarters of their highest-generating revenue from the U.K. linked back to the boroughs situated close to the King’s Road.
“The retail store is very much a brand hub and we feel the architecture and the building itself of the store reflects the aesthetic and style that we wanted to capture for our first retail store,” Lara said.
“Our family-run business is going from strength to strength, with a revenue forecast growth of 63 percent this year; 124 percent forecast increase for our e-commerce and a 507 percent increase in growth overall from 2019. We are proud to have over 1,000 retail partners across the world,” she added.
In the fourth quarter of 2019, Varley secured a $5 million investment from two of Europe’s most well-known business leaders: Ron Dennis, the official British business ambassador for the U.K., and Anders Povlsen, chief executive officer of the international retail chain Bestseller.
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