The group behind Pippa O’Connor's POCO brand last year increased its revenues by 6 per cent to a record €2.7 million in spite of the pandemic impact on the fashion industry.
The businesswoman and former model established her POCO brand in 2016 and revenues for all parts of her business for the 12 months to the end of October last equate to weekly average revenues of €51,952.
The new accounts filed by Ms O'Connor’s BOPOC Holdings Ltd show that pre-tax profits declined by 29 per cent to €103,150.
Ms O’Connor and her husband, Brian Ormond own and operate the group, which directly employed 20 people at the end of October last.
The two last year shared pay of €412,961, made up of remuneration of €388,961 and pension contributions of €24,000.
Since her ‘Poco by Pippa’ brand launched in 2016, 149,000 pairs of jeans in five years have been sold, with prices averaging €100 each.
In the year to mid-December last, 23,500 sweat-shirts and t-shirts had been sold as the business tapped into the pandemic demand for casual wear at home.
Growth
The growth rate last year of the company year-on-year was 44 per cent.
Addressing the impact of Covid-19 on the business, the directors state that at the time of approving the financial statements in May 2021, the company is exposed to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic which has had a negative effects on its activities since the end of last October.
They state in planning its future activities, Ms O’Connor and Mr Ormond “will seek to develop the company’s activities whilst managing the difficult period caused by the pandemic”.
The directors state that the results for last year were in line with their expectations.
Promotional activities
Along with sales in retail shops and online, the company also engages in promotional activities and investments. The directors state that the trading companies within the group face strong competition in the market and if they fail to compete successfully market share may decline.
The group last year recorded operating profits of €182,102 and interest payments of €78,952 reduced profits to a pre-tax profit of €103,150.
Staff costs at the group last year totalled €582,117. The group has an investment property with a book value of €1.98 million.
The brand
The couple have established a holding company, BOPOC Holdings Ltd; a property investment firm, Bopoc Investments Ltd; a TV production company, Bopoc Productions Ltd; a firm promoting events in Ireland, Ronnoco Style Ltd; a firm promoting events in the UK; Ronnoco Style NI Ireland; Ronnoco Collection Ltd and Up Cosmetics Ltd.
In an interview on RTE’s The Late Late Show, Pippa explained how the ‘Pippa brand’ developed.
She said that she needed a new challenge now that she wasn't modelling.
She said: “I was pregnant and prior to that I was modelling for eight years maybe and things were slowing up, and I got a bit frightened and thought, 'What am I going to do with the rest of my life?’
She added: “I just out of a hobby started a blog... I just simply started to document my style and my pregnancy fashion and it really grew organically from there.”
