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ASX ANNOUNCEMENT

17 November 2021

City Chic Collective 2021 Annual General Meeting

Chair and CEO Address

Please find attached the following documents, which will be presented at the 2021 Annual General Meeting of City Chic Collective Limited, which commences at 10:00am (Sydney time) today:

  1. Copy of the 2021 AGM addresses
  2. Copy of the accompanying presentation

Ends

The release of this announcement was authorised by the Board.

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Chairman's Address

The 2021 financial year saw little respite from the effects of COVID-19. On again, off again trading conditions together with impacts on demand and the supply chain meant the company had to adapt and innovate its business model to ensure ongoing sustainability and profitable growth. In circumstances where planning and anticipating the future was almost impossible, a lot was asked of City Chic team members. Under the calm yet determined leadership of our CEO and executive team, our people performed superbly. The company not only recorded strong profitable growth but also, materially diversified its geographic footprint, expanded its range, invested in the future and made good progress towards our vision of leading a world of curves.

Here are some of the highlights of FY21:

  • Sales Revenue grew by 32.9% and comparable sales growth (CSG) was 31.6%
  • Underlying EBITDA grew by 59.8% to $42.4m Pre-AASB16 (16.4% margin) and $50.2m PostAASB16
  • Statutory NPAT from continuing operations was $21.6m (135.3% growth), and Underlying NPAT of $24.9m (80.6% growth)
  • Normalised operating cash flow of $24.2m (FY20: $20.9m)
  • Global customer base growth of 61% YoY to 1.07m active customers
  • Global customer website traffic growth of 68% YoY to 58.1m visits
  • Online sales growth of 49.3%, with 73% online penetration
  • Sales outside of ANZ totalled 44.1% of group revenue
  • Signed new partnerships with Next, Curvissa, Freemans, HBC, Debenhams, Very, Zalando, Amazon, Walmart, Target, Ebay, David Jones and The Iconic
  • Strong balance sheet with net cash of $71.5m at 27 June 2021 and undrawn debt facility of $40.0m; completed $111.1m equity raise in July-August 2020
  • Completed strategic acquisitions of plus-size brand Evans in the UK in December 2020 and European plus-size online marketplace Navabi in July 2021
  • Commenced the process of diversifying our supply chain to offset the concentration risk in China
  • Developed and trialled new product segments and lifestyle ranges using brands that include: Refinity, Arna York, Societie+, Zim and Zoe, Aveology.
  • Continued to develop and trial our online "world of curves" marketplace for plus size for all our brands.
  • Further development of our ESG/ethical trade program.

Phil Ryan, our CEO will provide further details but, as can be seen, notwithstanding the complexity and uncertainty posed by the pandemic, FY2021 was a very busy and productive year. Management has succeeded in simultaneously preserving and expanding the core of the business whilst also investing in future income streams. Importantly, these new developments have the double benefit of adhering to our strategy of operating purely within the plus-size market and yet at the same time diversifying concentration risk, both geographically and from a product perspective.

The impacts of COVID-19 were managed through our geographical scope which protected us from rolling lockdowns and economic disruption as the timings of those disruptions were different between Northern and Southern Hemispheres and as between individual countries and states. Our increased range and efficient supply chain allowed us to pivot between the products our customers were seeking at various times during the pandemic. In lockdowns

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we could move away from party dresses and work wear, to casual, intimates and "zoom- wear".

As shareholders are aware, the Australian stores suffered during the rolling lockdowns, particularly in Victoria and more latterly in NSW. However, each time they reopened the response from customers was very strong indeed, with high double digit comparable sales. In the meantime, our customers were buying online and our expanded ranges allowed us to deliver to her what she wanted, when she wanted and at the right price point.

Avenue has proved to be a very good acquisition. Not only has it given us a higher profile in our biggest market, but also it has allowed us to introduce our other brands to US customers. This has been extremely well received and we are delighted with the way our business is developing in the USA. We have only just begun and we see a very substantial runway of growth opportunities in this USD49bn market. Continuing to develop our US business both organically and inorganically are key priorities for us.

FY21 saw another important milestone in our journey to leading a world of curves. In December 2020 we purchased the Evans business in the UK. Evans has been a retailer of plus sized women's wear for almost 100 years, both through high street shops and more recently online.

We only acquired the Evans brand, eCommerce and wholesale businesses, and Evans stores were closed. The business was somewhat run-down when we acquired it, having been part of the Arcadia Group which slid into administration in November 2020. The second half of FY21 was spent transitioning the business from Arcadia systems and warehousing into our group. We also started the process to build back run-down inventory and increase the range available to customers. In this sense, the task has been very similar to that in Avenue. The early signs in Evans have been promising and our success in revitalizing Avenue and getting customers to accept it as online only gives us confidence we can restore Evans to its former position and establish ourselves as a leader in the UK world of curves. We are also introducing the other brands in our collective to UK customers through the Evans 'world of curves' website/marketplace.

Evans also sells a small amount of product to other countries in Europe and in the Middle East and we see an opportunity through our product mix to grow the business meaningfully in these regions, as well as through our City Chic and Avenue websites/marketplaces in USA and Australia.

One transitory caveat around the Evans results is the well publicised labour shortages in the UK, particularly in transport and logistics. This has certainly impacted our ability to get goods into the country, into the warehouse and into customers' hands. In the early months of FY22 (in particular July and August) we had been building up stock for the Evans business and we were pleased with its performance. The impact of labour shortages, however was felt throughout September, October and into November, impacting our ability to continue rebuilding inventory as we had initially planned to, and as such, the performance of Evans will be below our expectations until these issues can be resolved. Phil will provide further detail.

In July 2021 we acquired Navabi, a marketplace business in Europe, domiciled in Germany and serving mostly German customers. The Navabi integration is proceeding as planned and the initial read on the loyalty of this customer to the marketplace is pleasing. The inventory levels will take time to rebuild and in the short term we will re-position global inventory to Europe. Navabi's loyal customer base is focused on size, fit and quality. Navabi's websites

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had 5.8m customer visits in 2020, generating €10.4m (A$16.6m) in sales revenue, and pre- pandemic traffic exceeded 10m visits. Navabi is an important beachhead for us in Europe and we will further develop this marketplace with all our brand offerings and seek to expand its predominantly German geographical scope to cover the rest of Europe. Growing the European business organically and inorganically is a priority in our quest to lead a world of curves.

Financial Position and Dividend

City Chic's net cash position at 27 June 2021 was $71.5m with no debt drawn under the existing $40m debt facility which matures in February 2023.

City Chic completed an equity raising of $111.1m in the first quarter to strengthen the balance sheet and accelerate the company's global growth ambitions. This comprised of, in July 2020, a fully underwritten $80.0m Placement of new fully paid ordinary shares to eligible institutional investors conducted at $3.05 per share. Following the completion of the Placement, in August 2020 City Chic offered all eligible shareholders the opportunity to participate in a non-underwritten Share Purchase Plan (SPP). City Chic raised $31.1m through the SPP, also conducted at $3.05 per share. A total of 36.4 million new shares were issued through the Placement and SPP.

A cash payment of $40.2m was made for the acquisition of Evans on 23 December 2020. The cash payment of $9.6m for the acquisition of Navabi on 23 July 2021, was post FY21 year end and therefore not reflected in the ending cash balance of $71.5m.

Given the opportunities to accelerate the growth of the business, as well as the ongoing uncertainty caused by COVID-19 around the world, the Board decided not to declare a dividend in respect of FY21. The decision whether to pay a dividend will be reviewed at the interim FY22 results. In view of the opportunities and also the risks caused by COVID-19, as well as the impacts of macroeconomic conditions such as labour shortages and flow on impacts to logistics, City Chic will remain focussed on sensibly deploying capital to achieve its strategic intent of gaining a strong global market position in a sector that, at least for now, is under-served.

FY22 Outlook

As has been well publicised, there are a number of external uncertainties in the market, such as labour shortages and impacts to logistics and supply chains. To help mitigate the risk of COVID-affected sourcing and logistics, we took the decision to build up our inventory to higher levels than we would ordinarily carry. This has proved to be the right decision as (subject to the issues peculiar to the UK) we do not foresee any material stock shortages in the important period leading into Christmas. We will continue to hold higher inventory levels until the sourcing and logistics issues settle down. Phil will provide further details. Additionally, you would be aware of instances of power outages in China, which thus far, haven't impacted our business in any significant way.

Notwithstanding the ongoing uncertainty caused by the pandemic and macro conditions, with geographic and channel diversification, a strong inventory position, loyal customers who like to buy online, and a focus on executing on the long-term plans for the business, we believe City Chic is well positioned to navigate the conditions and capitalise on the recovery.

Although Australia has been impacted by temporary store closures, stores which have been open combined with the online channel have in aggregate delivered comparable sales growth on the prior corresponding period. With high vaccination rates in Australia and

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greater political will to keep the economy functioning, we are hopeful that all channels will remain open for the important run into Christmas and that we have seen the last of the COVID-19 related lockdowns.

Avenue is trading strongly at above pre-acquisition levels. Evans has had a mixed performance so far, after a strong July - August we have seen supply challenges into the balance of the half. Navabi is now live in our systems and it remains too early to get a true read noting the limited period since our acquisition, however we are excited by the opportunity to bring our full product offering to the EU market.

With all the developments in the northern hemisphere, the seasonality of our trade and earnings is changing with second half earnings expected to be stronger than first half earnings for FY22. Phil will provide more detail about this change which reflects, amongst other things, the growth of our US operations and store closures during H1.

We are now live with a number of marketplace partnerships including Walmart (US), Ebay (AU) and Very (UK) . Marketplace integrations are underway for DJs and The Iconic in AU, Debenhams and Amazon in the UK, Zalando in Germany and Target in the US. These are all expected to be live in FY22. City Chic has also signed a partnership with David Jones for a concession in 15 stores, 7 of which are now open. We have also signed a partnership for over 30 Debenhams stores in the Middle East, which are also expected to launch in FY22.

In summary, in the current uncertain circumstances, our business is performing well. New runways of growth are being developed geographically, as well as through product expansion and additional partner channels. We are pleased with the development of our marketplaces which are an important part of becoming a destination for our customer where she can find multiple brands and products to satisfy her needs, whether at home, work or play.

Accordingly, in the absence of further material disruptions, we believe this will be another year of energetically progressing our strategic intent and delivering profitable growth.

Ladies and gentlemen, FY21 was a difficult but satisfying year for City Chic. The company and its people demonstrated adaptability, innovation, strategic intent, operational execution and resilience in a world beset with a virus that prevented travel, limited social interaction and impaired the ability to do business. We hope the worst of the virus is behind us, but it is a virulent and unpredictable disease so we remain vigilant, prepared for the worst and ready to adapt to whatever circumstances arise.

Come what may, we believe we can continue to grow profitably, invest for the future and progress towards leading a world of curves. This would not be possible without the wonderful City Chic Collective team and the customers we serve. Our sincere thanks for their extraordinary and ongoing support. It gives us energy and makes us even more determined to make this company a global success.

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City Chic Collective Limited published this content on 16 November 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 16 November 2021 22:26:04 UTC.