SuperGroup: distinctive and risky - FT.com The UK's SuperGroup, owner of the hot urban fashion brand Superdry, knows all about going from zero to hero. The company, which started life in 1985 in a small English town, has seen sales grow an average of 50 per cent per annum during the past five years. Its shares have more than doubled in value this year alone. The question is whether SuperGroup will be the equivalent of British supergroups Cream or merely Blind Faith in terms of worldwide success. So far SuperGroup is proving it has the potential to globalise. Total sales jumped by a quarter from a year earlier to £75m in the first quarter that ended in July. Same-store sales within its predominantly UK retail division were up almost a 10th - a good effort in an economy that is barely expanding. But more notable was the 26 per cent order book growth within SuperGroup's wholesale division, which includes franchise stores from France to Thailand and Taiwan. This division now makes up 30 per cent of sales and franchise operators have signed up to ambitious expansion targets. Still, like music tastes, fashion is a fickle business. And SuperGroup has a distinctive style. That makes its model risky - think of Australia's Billabong. The surfer brand's annual A$1bn in revenues are back where they were five years ago. Growing too quickly also brings challenges. A year and a half ago SuperGroup lost £9m after a technical glitch. Like fast-growing peers such as the UK's Asos, valuation multiples are getting lofty. SuperGroup now trades on 22 times forward earnings, close to Inditex's multiple of 25 times. True, the former is growing five times faster than the Spanish retailer. But at 30 per cent the latter has double the return on equity and is a far less risky proposition with a long record of overseas success. Although supergroups are a great idea they have to keep the hits coming like everyone else.