Lovisa's global store rollout has been hampered by slow logistics and a shortage of build contractors in key markets, the business has revealed in its AGM trading update.
The business, which is on a mission to expand its international bricks-and-mortar store footprint by at least 90 stores, said that the slow logistics and contractor shortages may continue to cause delays in the short term, while also increasing the cost of store builds.
"Despite the disruptions we continue to face globally we are pleased with the way the business has performed and remain focused on continuing to drive our store rollout," Lovisa said in the update.
"Whilst we are pleased with the pipeline of opportunities we have available, our store rollout progress for the year has been slower than we would like," the business said.
Despite the challenges of the store rollout, the business is trading well in the first 20 weeks of FY22.
Global comparable store sales were up 25.2% on FY21*, with total sales up 46.1% compared to FY21, despite lockdowns across Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia during the period.
"Pleasingly we have been able to re-open all stores in our store network that had been temporarily closed as a result of COVID-19 government restrictions," Lovisa said.
"Although Austria has now unfortunately moved into lockdown in recent days and our three stores there are therefore temporarily closed," the business said.
Lovisa currently has 570 stores in its global network, with 31 new stores opened since the end of the 2021 financial year and five closures.
"We are also pleased to note that included in the above store numbers are two new franchise stores in Cyprus, bringing our geographical coverage to 21 countries globally," Lovisa added.
In addition, the business' newly appointed CEO Victor Herrero has commenced in the role and is working with exiting CEO Shane Fallscheer to ensure a smooth transition.
*Comparable store sales continue to be measures based on stores open and able to trade, with stores temporarily closed due to government-imposed lockdowns not included in the calculation.