TIDMKOOV
RNS Number : 3711L
Koovs PLC
11 January 2016
For Release at 7am on 11 January 2016
Koovs plc
KOOVS achieves sales* growth of 210% supported by new brand
marketing campaign
Trading update for 14 weeks to 3 January 2016
Koovs plc ("Koovs", the "Company" and, together with its
subsidiary undertakings, the "Group") (AIM: KOOV), the
fashion-forward business focused on the young Indian e-commerce
market, today announces a trading update for the period from 28
September 2015 to 3 January 2016.
Financial and operational highlights
-- 210% sales* growth to INR295.6m (GBP2.96m).
-- First phase of brand-focused, multi-channel marketing
campaign, from 23 November 2015 to 31 December 2015, increased
brand awareness from 1% to 8% (according to Campaign Watch from
mConsult).
-- 98% increase in website visits and 75% increase in conversion rates year on year.
-- Weekly traffic exceeded one million visits per week for the
first time; a 40% increase from the start of the marketing
campaign.
Management and strategy update
Mary Turner, appointed CEO on 1 October 2015, has made a
considerable impact in her first 90 days in the role, refocusing
the commercial strategy into three immediate priorities; to deliver
a step-change in brand awareness, to extend the product ranges to
appeal to a wider audience, and to develop a compelling fashion
discovery platform with lifestyle content and social media
engagement.
She has already initiated the first phase of a major brand
awareness campaign, with very encouraging results, and appointed
Gaurav Nabh (formerly CEO of Quasar, WPP's specialist digital
agency in India) as Marketing Director to drive the on-going
marketing strategy. Gaurav brings over 14 years of marketing
experience including responsibility for launching Virgin Mobile and
Telenor in India and has worked with top international brands such
as Proctor & Gamble, Nestlé, Colgate and Domino's Pizza on
their digital launches in the market.
In addition, as part of an overall business review, she has
rebalanced the Group's international talent, refocusing the London
team on creative and design and strengthening the execution
capability in India.
Business strategy
Koovs.com is an online fashion destination for aspirational,
fashion-conscious, tech-savvy, social and affluent young urbanites
in India. Koovs blends its own-label brand with 150 famous
international fashion brands and exclusive style collaborations.
Koovs.com is building an online community, incorporating strong
style content, enabling its target customers to interact and have
conversations about fashion.
The Indian e-commerce market is undergoing exceptional growth.
The lifestyle e-commerce market is estimated to increase by 5-times
to GBP7.5bn by 2020, driven by the rise of the internet-connected
middle class in key urban centres. Koovs' strategy is to access
this growth market and to build Koovs.com into India's number one
affordable western fashion destination by 2020.
The directors believe that what stands the Group apart is its
exclusive private label designed in Koovs' own London studio,
focused on the style conscious youth market, and its authority on
international fashion, established through years of management
experience working in global fashion markets.
In order to achieve the Company's vision and capture market
share, management are focused on:
-- investing in the Koovs brand, amplifying it using a blend of
high profile multi-media activities and innovative customer
activations through music and fashion events;
-- growing the product range to extend and broaden into new
categories and develop a 'basics' range to underpin the trend
ranges; and
-- creating a distinct and compelling online fashion destination.
Investment in the brand
Koovs has established a core following of early adopters,
however brand awareness across the total Indian market has been
low. The directors believe this creates a significant opportunity
for the Group to increase sales by raising brand awareness and
reaching a wider target audience.
Koovs is implementing a targeted marketing campaign that spans a
broad range of media, including a new focus on off-line media such
as print, television, cinema and outdoor displays, as well as
through activation activities such as participation in music and
fashion events. This will be supported by a continuation of the
on-line marketing including i-video and social media.
The initial campaign was launched in November 2015 resulting in
a significant increase in brand awareness and strong sales* growth.
It will be followed-up by further campaigns for the spring and
autumn of 2016.
Product range
Koovs currently leads on trend-led fashion. By broadening the
product offering into new categories including casual wear, active
wear and work wear, along with an entry-priced fashion basics
range, Koovs expects to widen its appeal to a broader customer
base.
Fashion destination
Koovs.com aims to engage with customers and embed Koovs into
their lifestyle by providing an engaging experience through fashion
and lifestyle-related content and a seamless experience across the
web, mobile and tablet. The "Style Stories" hub offers fashion
inspiration, style news and the ability to interact and share.
Capital raising
The Company is in the final stages of agreeing another staged
fundraising round of approximately GBP4 million. This will include
further Director participation, underlining their confidence in the
business strategy. This funding will allow the Company the
flexibility to take a measured and strategic approach to the timing
and terms of subsequent equity raises within the overall equity
funding requirement. A further announcement will be made
shortly.
Mary Turner, CEO of Koovs plc, said:
"We are very excited about the impact Koovs' first brand
marketing campaign has had in raising our brand awareness from 1%
to 8%. With highly targeted media and a standout creative, we have
achieved impressive cut-through compared to brands with much higher
spend profiles of 3-5 times ours.
"We have a clear strategy to build India's leading fashion
destination, underpinned by clear financing and investment plans
which are on track. Our priorities are to build on the positive
momentum of our initial marketing campaign, further develop our
product ranges and accelerate growth into the New Year."
Waheed Alli, Chairman of Koovs plc, said:
"The business continues to achieve spectacular growth,
accelerated by the initiatives put in place by Mary during her
first 90 days. Mary's background in fashion and technology
start-ups has brought even greater focus to our business and her
energy and drive are delivering strong results already. We are
delighted to have her on board."
Key Performance Indicators
14 weeks 14 weeks Growth 14 weeks 14 weeks
to 3 January to 3 January to 3 January to 3 January
2016 2015 2016 2015
Memorandum(^) Memorandum(^)
Koovs.com INR295.6 INR95.5 +210% GBP2,956k GBP955k
sales* m m
Visits to
the website 12.7 million 6.4 million +98%
Conversion 1.4% 0.8% +75%
-------------- --------------
* Gross sales order value placed through the KOOVS.COM website
including taxes. This does not represent the revenue of the
Group.
^ Sterling equivalent at constant exchange rate of INR100 to
GBP1.
Notes to Editors
Koovs is focused on building KOOVS.COM into the leading fashion
destination in India. The Company is headquartered in London, where
the majority of its design and buying team is based, with all other
operational functions based in India. The marketing campaign video
can be seen at www.youtube.com/koovsdotcom
For further information,
please contact:
Koovs plc Tel: +44 (0)20 7151 0170
Mary Turner/Roy Naismith
Peel Hunt LLP
Dan Webster / George Tel: +44 (0) 20 7418
Sellar 8900
Jock Maxwell Macdonald
(ECM)
Brunswick Group LLP
Nick Claydon /Alison Tel: +44 (0) 20 7404
Kay 5959
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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