Mothercare’s worldwide retail sales fell 18% to £230.6m ($310.2m).
It notes that in the first 23 weeks of FY26, the Group’s Franchise Partners recorded total retail sales of £80.7m (FY25: £107.7m), with the decline largely resulting from the continuing uncertainty in the Middle East and to a lesser extent a winding down of the sales arrangement in the UK.
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It warned this level of retail sale reduction will result in materially reduced profitability for the Group.
Adjusted EBITDA for the 52 week period ending 29 March, fell to £3.5m versus £6.9m a year earlier.
Adjusted operating profit fell 69% to £2m.
The group said the global brand is “now significantly bigger than our current business is able to extract the full value from.”
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By GlobalDataWhile the India JV has improved its balance sheet and financing position, it is now focused on “the step change in the business and the brand.”
“Having successfully demonstrated the inherent strength of the Mothercare brand, we are now accelerating our efforts to return the brand to growth and scale. The current business model could support much higher volumes, and such increased volumes would result in the vast majority of increased income falling straight to the bottom line.
“The Mothercare brand is recognised and trusted around the world and we are in discussions with several other parties to restore critical mass, especially in the UK market,” it adds.
In 2019, Mothercare entered administration in the UK and closed all 79 of its stores as part of a strategic shift towards focusing on its international operations. It shifted to a franchise model in the Middle East and then in 2023, struck a joint venture agreement with India’s Reliance Brands to franchise its brand in parts of Asia.
Clive Whiley, chairman of Mothercare, said: “We are accelerating discussions with several parties to monetise the operational gearing in the business by restoring critical mass, especially in the UK. This is designed to reinforce the efforts of our talented management team to drive our product offering to new heights, having demonstrated the inherent strength of the Mothercare brand over the last year.”
