Holland & Barrett’s turnaround is well underway after sales surged 10% following a “landmark” year of investment.
Revenue increased to £884.5m, from £806.1m in the year to 30 September 2024, according to partial accounts released by the company this week. Gross profit grew to £524.2m, from £475.7m, a 10% increase, driven by increased food sales and footfall at its stores.
The retailer credited the performance to its “significant transformation strategy”, which has seen it invest £96.3m into its stores and ramp up its own label food proposition during the year.
In what was the second year of the three-year strategy, launched by owner LetterOne in 2023 following its £700m debt buy back deal, H&B opened 36 new stores and renovated a further 320, alongside an expansion of its concessions partnerships, including with Tesco.
H&B added a further 400 health-focused food and drink products to its own labels, which led to a 34% increase in food sales. The retailer has added more than 1,000 new food products to its stores since relaunching its food and drink range in September 2023. It did not provide volume figures.
It’s also invested significantly into its supply chain, including an ongoing refit of its Burton fulfilment centre as well as an upgrade of its backend IT systems. Cost to sales ratio improved by nearly nine percentage points to 30.5% as a result, H&B said.
Read more: How Holland & Barrett is transforming its food offer
“This has been a landmark year for our business – one defined by purpose, transformation and a significant investment in the future of this 150-year-old business,” said H&B executive chair Alex Gourlay.
“With societal shifts towards prevention, testing and self-care, and insufficient public health care provision due to constraints on national health systems, there is an increasing unmet need which Holland & Barrett was well positioned to serve,” he added. “It is with great pride, that we have taken the bold steps necessary to meet the evolving needs of our customers, accelerating our transformation journey and laying a strong foundation for long-term growth.”
Customer numbers at its stores increased by 9% during the year, and the business aimed to accelerate that growth over the next year, through a strategy “aimed at meeting growing demand in the wellness and preventative health space.” Both sales and gross profit were up 8% during the first half of 2025, H&B said. Property and format director Nick Gerrard has previously set the target of opening 50 new stores in 2025.
There was also “significant momentum” in its international stores, with revenues up 19% to £27.2m in 2024.
”Our retail performance continues to outperform the UK and Netherlands high streets and compares strongly against other European countries,” Gourlay said. “We are energised by the momentum we’ve built and excited for the opportunities ahead. I could not be happier with the ongoing performance of the business or prouder of our colleagues who have been at the heart of delivering this strong growth.”
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