Huge UK high street fashion brand suffers sales slump as bosses cut staff
Sales and staff levels have dropped(Image: Mike Kemp, In Pictures via Getty Images)Despite a surge in demand for its watches and jewellery, Christian Dior's UK operations have seen a significant cut in sales and profit. The London branch of the luxury fashion brand witnessed its revenue plummet from £32.4m to £280m within a year, while pre-tax profits also took a dive from £46.6m to £27.6m during the same timeframe.This latest pre-tax profit figure is a stark contrast to the £60m recorded in 2022. According to newly filed accounts at Companies House, the average headcount at Dior UK dropped from 484 to 439 in 2024.A board-approved statement read: "The directors expect the level of activity to be maintained compared to that of the previous year and we are expecting the year 2025 to be in line with 2024 in terms of profits.", as reported by City AM.Tough times for the brand(Image: John Keeble, Getty Images)"The company achieve[d] a solid performance despite an unfavourable global economic environment."Highlighting the brand's resilience amidst uncertainty, the statement also noted: "The company navigated an uncertain environment with resilience, showcasing the strength of its strategy and the quality of its products, particularly in its women ready-to-wear division growing by 2% and watches and jewellery division growing by 5%."The broader group, based in Paris, falls under the leadership of French tycoon Bernard Arnault, who also presides over LVMH. For the corresponding financial year, Dior reported revenues of €84.6bn (£73.9bn), a decrease from €86.1bn in 2023, with profit from recurring operations also falling from €22.7bn to €19.5bn.For the first half of its current financial year, the group reported a revenue of €39.8bn, marking a 4% decline. Its profit from recurring operations also took a hit, dropping by 15% to €9bn.Following these figures, Dior found itself grappling with a cyber attack in May. The fashion giant confirmed a data breach that led to the compromise of personal customer details, predominantly affecting clients in China.Although no financial or banking information was compromised, the breached database held personally identifiable information such as names, gender, email and postal addresses, phone numbers, and purchase history.At the time, Dior released a statement saying: "We immediately took steps to contain this incident. The teams at Dior, supported by leading cyber security experts, continue to investigate and respond to the incident. We are notifying all the relevant regulatory authorities".Furthermore, the company is actively informing impacted customers and has expressed deep regret for "any concern or inconvenience" this may have caused.This incident at Dior adds to a series of high-profile cyber attacks in the UK, which have seen companies like Marks and Spencer, Harrods, and the Co-op also fall victim.For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.
