Sales at Stella McCartney’s fashion label sank by more than a quarter last year tipping it further into the red and adding to fears it could run out of money by 2028.
Pre-tax losses at the British brand led by the daughter of former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney widened to £33.6m in 2024 from £25m the year before, while sales fell 27% to £16m, according to accounts filed at Companies House.
The latest loss comes after the brand’s directors warned it could run out of cash by 2028 even if its parent company Anin Star Holding, which is controlled by the designer, did not call in its loans. The label has not made a pre-tax profit since 2017 and has warned for several years about a need for additional funding to keep going.
Directors said the company, which is known for its ethical stance and not using animal products, had identified contingency measures to spin out cash reserves for longer but admitted they “may consider alternative sources of funding to secure the long-term viability of the business”.
The Stella McCartney brand, whose vegan handbags sell for nearly £1,000, said sales rose in the UK and in its stores last year but that was offset by a decline in royalty and wholesale income, which dragged down sales overall.
The directors, who include the designer, blamed “challenging market conditions” for the fall in sales. Luxury labels struggled last year with even their well-heeled clientele forced to economise amid the rising cost of living and Chinese shoppers reining in spending.
British labels such as Burberry have also blamed slower UK sales on the previous government’s decision to end tax breaks for tourists.
McCartney bought back a 49% stake in her eponymous brand in January this year which had been controlled by luxury conglomerate LVMH. The deal reflected “her desire to write a new page in her story independently”, according to a joint statement from LVMH and McCartney at the time.
Before that deal, the label was independent for just over a year after McCartney ended a 17-year partnership with rival luxury conglomerate Kering, the owner of Gucci, and bought back its 50% stake in her brand.
McCartney, whose late mother was the photographer and animal rights activist Linda McCartney, designed her first jacket as a teenager. After work experience at Christian Lacroix she rose to become the creative director of the Parisian fashion house Chloé, before starting her own label in a joint venture with Kering in 2001.
The label Stella McCartney was approached for comment.
