Victorian Plumbing sales soar despite weak market

Online bathroom retailer Victorian Plumbing has reported a 28% increase in turnover pro rata, it has claimed.

According to the company’s annual report, sales in the six months to September 30 hit £52.7m with pre-tax profits of £2.4m. It claimed to be on target to top £100m for the full year.

In the 18 months to March 31, 2017, the company achieved a turnover of £123.5m and pre-tax profits increased by £3.1m.

The company attributed the results to increased economies of scale, given the current market position.

Victorian Plumbing claimed this was significantly higher growth than the overall bathroom sector, which reportedly grew by 3%.

It also claimed that new marketing initiatives and brand building have proven successful with plans to diversify these further.

Marketing manager Joe Pascoe said: “My team is delighted to see our continued investment in Victorian Plumbing paying off. We’ve focused our attention heavily on building our brand in the past 12 months and further refining our performance marketing channels. While our competitors struggle to turn a profit, it’s testament to the team’s hard work that we’re posting results like these.
We’re the clear leader in our space by any metric, and we’re looking forward to further increasing our market share and continuing to build relationships with future Victorian Plumbing customers.”

Based on these results, the company is projecting a turnover of £106m to £107m, based on an audited turnover of £53.7m for a six-month period, excluding January and Black Friday, which it claimed makes them the UK’s biggest online bathroom retailer.

Victorian Plumbing managing director Mark Radcliffe commented: “We’re very proud to have been able to continue to grow at an astonishing rate – currently putting us about double the size of our nearest competitor.
 Despite what I have read about other competitors who may feel the market is currently challenging, we feel very strongly that the opportunity is there. We continue to invest in software, in skills and in staff. In fact, I would say our biggest challenge is recruiting at the rate we need to with the level of growth we are enjoying.
The market is not as tough as some would have you believe in efforts to mask poor results. Despite seeing a number of competitors blaming poor market conditions, Brexit, or even ongoing legal issues, we feel as ever that there is opportunity in every challenge, and some competitors have simply failed to meet those challenges in the way we have.”

An ongoing legal claim with Victoria Plumb over trademark infringements is set to go to appeal in February 2018, with Victorian Plumbing saying there have been no significant changes in terms of the case and/or perceived outcome.

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