Our brands have a combined history of more than 750 years as the much loved choice for our customers’ homes. Our ambition is to be a leading force in the global homewares category.
Investment case
Global brands loved around the world
The Group owns six major brands which are sold into over 60 markets around the world and have a combined history of more than 750 years.
We are focused on returning our three established markets (US, South Korea and the UK) to stablility and onto growth after a year of disruption. Across all markets we will develop our customer base, introduce new collections and expand existing collections and develop our online and eCommerce offer.
Portmeirion Botanic Garden celebrated its 50th year in 2022 and Spode Christmas Tree, first launched in 1938, remains a perennial US market favourite.
Online sales and capability to grow this channel
Our online channels remain a key part of our growth strategy. Reflecting the change in consumer behaviour to digital, we continue to invest in our online platforms, fulfilment and capabilities.
We place strong focus on the growth of our own ecommerce, D2C for retail customers and building partnerships with distributors/retailers who have a like-minded approach to digital growth.
Strong operational capabilities
The Group maintains two factories in the UK, these factories made up 45% of the revenue generated in 2023, with the remaining 55% coming from sourced product sales. Product from our six global brands is shipped mainly via our distribution centres in the UK, US and Canada.
We continue to build capabilities and capacity in our operations including the finalisation of our mezzanine floor project at our main UK distribution centre to enhance D2C order fulfilment.
We have further investment planned for our D2C capabilities at our UK, US and Canada distribution centres.
Currently, approximately 26% of our branded tableware products are made in our Stoke-on-Trent factory, and we intend to increase this over the next 24 months which we are confident will reap substantial benefits over the medium term.
Going forward, we will continue to build on our ongoing automation investments in our factories and continue to drive further operational improvements and efficiencies.
Fortress Balance Sheet
We are focused on generating cash and our intent is to repay our debt in full over the next 2 to 3 years to maintain a net cash position. As we repay debt we benefit from lower associated interest costs, which together with efficiencies and growth, releases capital for investment in marketing our premium brands in established and international markets.
Reports and Presentations
Our reports and presentations are available on this website under Investors, Reports and Presentations. This includes presentations made to Institutional Investors on our interim and full year results.
We take part in Investor Meet Company presentations thereby providing the same access to management to all shareholders as institutional investors have, regardless of the number of shares owned or where the shareholder is located. We encourage all shareholders or potential shareholders to register on the Investor Meet Company website at www.investormeetcompany.com. This is a free service and anyone can register, whether a shareholder or not. Once you have registered on the website, you go to your dashboard and type the company name in the search bar. Then simply click "Add to meet" on the company you want to meet. From this point forward you will be invited to every presentation the company holds on the platform, once that company is active. This will allow you to access Portmeirion Group presentations and any other company you are interested in and which has subscribed.
Transforming our Business: Our 2025-2026 Priorities
As we enter into a journey of transformation, we have reflected on the challenges of 2024 and have set out a series of immediate priorities, which we believe will accelerate our strategy and objectives below, and support a recovery of long-term, profitable growth.
1. Return to Growth in our Established Markets
We are focused on returning our three established markets - US, South Korea and UK - to stablility and onto growth after a year of disruption. In the US, we will accelerate in-stock dates for key Christmas collections and in South Korea, we will continue to support our distributors and retail partners to reduce stock levels. Across all markets we will develop our customer base, introduce new collections and expand existing collections, develop our online offer and exercise better control and oversight.
2. Fortress Balance Sheet
We are focused on generating cash and our intent is to repay our debt in full over the next 2 to 3 years to maintain a net cash position. As we repay debt we benefit from lower associated interest costs, which together with efficiencies and growth, releases capital for investment in marketing our premium brands in established and international markets.
3. Invest in our Premium Brands
Our future success and prosperity depends on how we execute and develop our premium brands globally over the next few years. We will spend more on brand marketing in the years ahead, with certain brands seeing an anticipated c. 5-8x increase in spend from current levels as funds become available. Success will not be instant. It requires commitment, consistency and patience, and as we spend we will evaluate effectiveness. In all markets we will engage direct with the end customer to introduce our brands, earn their trust and loyalty, and in parallel support our retail partners and brand ambassadors to drive sales for them and our own eCommerce.
We intend to completely overhaul and reenergise our own retail store portfolio in the UK and our global eCommerce over the next 12 months to improve our customers brand experience very markedly. Increasing the proportion of branded product 'Made in Stoke-on-Trent' is an important commitment to our customer and brands.
4. Explore & Develop
International markets are defined by 57 individual markets and account for 8% of Group sales, and only three contribute more than £0.5m sales each. We have the premium brands and collections to be successful in these markets, but until we build a consistent brand presence and connect with our end customer, growth will be hard fought. Our international sales team has been tasked to explore these markets and will be focusing on developing a handful initially. We are confident that we have the leadership and infrastructure in place to be successful; we certainly have the determination and integrity.
Explore & Develop is not just about geography and markets, it applies throughout the business. We have a history of innovation across the business and at every level. We will explore the value and potential of our extensive design archives whether that be for ceramic tableware, giftware, or indeed licensing opportunities for other categories. We will continue to develop new, beautiful product; to innovate and support not only existing customers, but develop new customer demographics.
5. Excellence Everywhere
There is real opportunity for improvement across the Group and every colleague, at every level, across every department and geography can contribute to our performance improvement and transform our business. We will ingrain Excellence Everywhere in our everyday behaviours and actions and at every level, our mindset will be one of brand first, attention to detail, and continuous improvement everywhere. We have an open and entrepreneurial culture and a determination to succeed. Our colleagues are encouraged to take risks and learn from their mistakes to produce better results and generate a positive impact.
1 April 2025
