Swiss Lingerie & Sleepwear brand
How a Swiss Lingerie & Sleepwear Brand Recovered Over CHF 317,000 in VAT & Duty Using Sell to Europe.
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Sector: Premium lingerie & sleepwear
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Headquarters: Switzerland
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Sales model: Direct-to-consumer e-commerce
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Primary markets: European Union & United Kingdom
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Fulfilment: Cross-border (non-EU / non-UK origin)
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Product mix: Intimates, loungewear, nightwear
Annual Sales Performance (12 Months)
Market
Local Currency Revenue
United Kingdom £1,600,000
European Union €3,450,000
Operating Parameters
Metric
UK EU
Return rate 25% 22%
% sales above deminimis
65% 70%
Import duty ( avg.) 10% 10%
VAT / Sales Tax 20% 20%
De-minimis threshold £135 €150
Returned Sales Values
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Overall Returned Sales Value - incurred VAT
UK £1,600,000 × 25%% = £400,000
€3,450,000 × 22% = €759,000
Returned Sales above deminimus - incurred Duty
UK £400,000 × 65% = £260,000
EU €759,000 × 60% = €531,600
Total Tax & Duty Recovered
Market Duty AT / Sales Tax Total
UK £26,000 £80,000 £106,000
EU €53,130 €151,800 €204,930
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When converted to Australian dollars that resulted in the business being able to recovering CHF (Swiss Franc) 317,431 for the year.
What This Represents Commercially
For this Swiss lingerie brand, recovered border taxes equated to:
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~10% of total returned sales value
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~6.3% of combined EU + UK revenue
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A direct improvement to margin without changing product, pricing, or marketing
In premium intimate apparel, where gross margins typically sit between 65–75%—this level of recovery has a material impact on:
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profitability by market
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cash flow predictability
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international expansion economics
Did the client need to:
1. Change their Logistics partners - NO
2. Pay any additional up front costs - No our fees are only paid from VAT & Duty funds recouped on the clients behalf.
3. Change any of their warehousing and/or operations - NO, small changes required in invoice structure only.
4. Supply significant resource and staffing to set the service up - NO, apart from responding to authorisation emails most of the work is completed by The Sell To Europe partners.