Cheltenham-based fashion brand is turning a corner following a difficult year of trading.

The retailer has just published its preliminary results for the year ending April 24 2021, as well as a trading update for the weeks to August 28.

Julian Dunkerton, chief executive officer of Superdry, said: "Like most brands with a physical presence, our performance over the past year has been impacted by the significant disruption of Covid-19, but I am really proud of how the business has stepped up and returned to revenue growth in Q4.

"Store and wholesale revenues are recovering well, despite continued subdued footfall, and ecommerce margin is benefitting from our return to a full price stance. We have used this time effectively to accelerate our brand reset and put the business in the best possible position for the future.

Superdry has a total of 231 stores in more than 50 countries and reported a pre-tax loss of £36.7 million for the year. Sales fell by 21.1 per cent to £556.1 million as a result of continued lockdowns around the world.

The brand reported that it had lost 39 per cent of potential store trading days due to Covid-19.

In-store sales were down 51.1 per cent for the first half of the year - from £287.2 million to £140.5 million. At the same time, online sales increased by 33.1 per cent.

Over the last 18 weeks, Superdry has seen a small increase in sales - up 1.9 per cent on the same time last year, but still 29.6 per cent below 2019 levels. An increase in sales in the UK and US was offset by a fall in sales in the EU, which was experiencing further store closures.

Julian Dunkerton continued: "Trading has been encouraging since the reopening of our stores, and we'll take a big step forward as a brand with the opening of our global flagship store in Oxford Street later in the autumn. Whilst a lot remains uncertain, I'm looking ahead to 2022 and beyond with real confidence as we deliver our reset."