N Brown makes ‘encouraging’ start

PLUS-size retailer N Brown has reported a steady start to its new financial year, showing the business back in growth mode.

The Manchester-based company, which owns brands such as Simply Be, Jacamo and JD Williams, has had a bumpy time of later due to a major reorganisation and refocus under new chief executive Angela Spindler.

In a trading update for the 13 weeks to May 29,the company said revenues are up 2.5% with like-for-like sales up 1.5%.

Angela Spindler said: “We have had an encouraging start to the year, but there remains a lot to do. We have seen double-digit growth in both Simply Be and Jacamo as the shift from support brands to our power brands continues. Although revenues were slightly down year-on-year, JD Williams continues to show signs of progress with new recruits up 27%.

“Our strategy remains on track. During the quarter we continued to streamline our organisation and our processes to embed a digital-first model.

“This year will be more significantly H2 weighted as the planned benefits of the changes made flow through, and we become more aligned with typical retail phasing. The scale of change is significant, but we are excited about the transformation under way. Full year guidance remains unchanged.”