Royal Warrant holder Smythson reports £7m loss as a number of stores close

Three Smythson stores have closed in the UK and another on Madison Avenue in New York

Smythson, a leather goods company, which holds a Royal Warrant, suffered losses of £7 million as it closed a number of stores in an attempt to cut costs.

The company, whose clients also included Winston Churchill and Hollywood star Grace Kelly, warned that inflation, high interest rates and the cost of living crisis were creating uncertainty in the luxury goods market.

Reports provided by the company showed that sales rose by £3m to £23.7m in the year to 2 April. , 2023, and pre-tax losses narrowed slightly to £7.3 million from £8.5 million a year earlier.

Smithson said he had to close four stores during this period; at Madison Avenue in New York, the Royal Exchange in London, Heathrow Terminal 2 and Bicester Village in Oxfordshire. The company has since closed another London store in Westbourne Grove and plans to move its New Bond Street store to a new location when it moves in 2017.

Paolo Porta, chief executive of Smythson, said in the reports: “Demand in the luxury retail sector remains uncertain given global and local economic conditions resulting from the impact of the Covid pandemic, the ongoing impact of the Ukrainian war and the recent rise in interest rates. and cost of living.

The post-Covid recovery continued throughout the year, with most retailers returning to pre-Covid levels. Our travel destinations, although significantly improved, continued to be impacted by declines in passenger numbers and international travel in the first half of the year.»

Founded in 1887 by Frank Smithson, the company began with a single store on London's New Bond Street. The company began making stationery, winning a commission to create stationery for Queen Victoria's residences, and then expanded into handbags in the 1900s.

Smithson's ties to the royal family strengthened in the 1960s when the company received her first royal warrant from Queen Elizabeth II. The company then received warrants from King Charles when he was Prince of Wales and the late Queen Mother in the 1980s, as well as from the former Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip.

The company was bought. from Tivoli, one of Italy's largest handbag manufacturers, in 2009, worth around £18 million.

Samantha Cameron, wife of Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron, worked for Smythson from 1997 to 2010, starting as a window dresser before becoming a creative director. She worked for the company as a consultant in subsequent years when her husband became prime minister.

Smithson has been approached for comment.