Former Ann Summers chief executive Jacqueline Gold, who died in March. The lingerie and adult toys retailer continues to operate its retail units in Ireland despite the closure of its direct sales business last year.Ann Summers discontinued its direct selling business in Ireland last year because “higher operating costs” associated with Brexit made it “uneconomical”, according to recently filed company documents.
The 2020 accounts for Ann Summers Ltd, filed later than usual due to the impact of the pandemic, reveal that the group took the decision to axe the business from September 2022. The group, which sells a range of lingerie, adult toys and apparel, operated a multichannel sales model previously comprising its “party plan” ambassador network in addition to its online and retail component.
In a note attached to the accounts, Jacqueline Gold, the former chief executive of Ann Summers who died earlier this after a long illness, said that Ann Summers hired an additional 60 Irish ambassadors at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic in response to the first national lockdown. She said the move, which took the total number of ambassadors here to 67, increased the business’s direct selling sales by 441 per cent during the first lockdown and had “a hugely positive impact on the company’s profitability”.