Health and beauty retailer Superdrug saw sales increase by 11.8% in 2023, with pre-tax profits hitting £111.6mn, as customers shopped in store and purchased own brand products.
The retailer’s full year financial results also reported market share growing for the third consecutive year rising to 10.6%, versus the 8.9% market share held in 2020. Superdrug credited these positive figures on strong retail store performance, increased sales volume and continued Own Brand growth.
Superdrug stressed its ongoing investment into its stores in prime retail destinations contributed to robust sales during the financial period. It opened 14 new stores opening in key locations such as The Trafford Centre in Manchester, Brent Cross Shopping Centre and Braehead – Superdrug’s largest store in Scotland.
The larger stores have been designed to include spacious aisles where Superdrug customers can enjoy browsing the latest trending cosmetics and skincare products, Beauty Studios offering beauty services, premium fragrance counters and health services.
In addition to the new store locations, Superdrug has modernised and refitted 45 existing stores over the course of the year. Updates included new shop fronts, upgraded store Wi-Fi, new floor layouts, upgraded fascia and internal signage, improved flooring and ceiling tiles made from bio-soluble mineral wool, clay and starch and energy efficient LED lighting.
Volume sales for total revenue increased by 4.2 % year-on-year owing to Superdrug’s strategy to list up to the minute ‘Made by’ Superdrug products, providing the company with a significant point of difference and a means to showcase its innovation in the health and beauty market.
Additionally, ‘Exclusive to’ launches from brands including Biore SPF, Nyx X Barbie and fragrance by Billie Eilish made up a high proportion of sales, as customers snapped up the latest trending beauty products.
Superdrug’s CEO, Peter Macnab, commented: “Our vision is to be the UK’s leading accessible health & beauty retailer with high quality, affordable products at the heart of everything we do. Our financial results demonstrate the trust that customers are continually putting in us and I would like to thank our colleagues for their ongoing hard work and commitment and for living and breathing our vision every day.
“Over the last year, we’ve continued to invest into our store estate to provide customers with best-in class shopping experiences. The strong store sales growth gives us the confidence that our strategy is working, and new stores are being welcomed by customers and the local community.
“As inflation continued to put pressure on households, at Superdrug we’ve invested heavily to keep our prices competitive and help families keep costs down. In May 2023, we reduced prices by 20%, equivalent to VAT across the Solait sun protection range to help make products more affordable for families and rolled out additional members only pricing across own brand ranges. The Superdrug Mobile tariff was also frozen for another year following an investment in a new platform and 5G services to provide our customers with more value for money.”
An exclusive company profile in the ChannelX European Marketplace Report looks how Superdrug aims to be the champion of both SMEs and startup brands.
The profile covers Superdrug becoming the UK’s first high street health and beauty retailer to have a marketplace – and beating Boots to the draw by a matter of weeks – the drive to create Superdrug Marketplace was the same as for any retailer: to rapidly expand online inventory and grow customer base as shoppers pivot to online. However, it has also been used as a means to helping promote and sell small, niche and start-up health and beauty brands.
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