Kirk & Kirk reports growth for 2021

Kirk & Kirk has recorded a growth in revenue over the past year, with plans for further expansion in 2022.

The company reported a more than 40% year-on-year revenue growth over the past 12 months.

The growth was driven by a number of new wholesale agreements, with more than 400 independent stockists now retailing Kirk & Kirk frames worldwide.

This is despite the ongoing effects of the pandemic, in addition to trading issues following Brexit, the company’s major investor, private equity firm Growthdeck, shared.

The company highlighted that one way in which it has been able to mitigate the effects of Brexit has been by establishing a European distribution hub in France. This has allowed the company to sell “friction-free” throughout Europe, it said.

Looking ahead to 2022, the company announced plans for a “major expansion into sunglasses,” along with the introduction of new features throughout the year.

The sunglasses range will be marketed online, as well as through high-end fashion retailers and department stores. While Kirk & Kirk has previously focused on selling through optical practices, the company has seen a doubling of website traffic during the pandemic, which has made online sales “an increasingly important channel.” The new range is expected to result in an increase in higher-margin online sales.

Jason Kirk, CEO of Kirk & Kirk, said: “We’ve seen excellent growth in the past year by sticking to our plan of delivering frames that people want and marketing them well. The pandemic hasn’t stopped us doing that.”

Commenting on plans for the year ahead, Kirk continued: “In this market there is no substitute for the fundamentals - a desirable product, strong distribution and great brand strategy.

“We’re going to stick to those fundamentals again in the next phase of our growth. We expect 2022 to be an even bigger year for Kirk & Kirk.”