N Brown confirms store roll-out after strong first half

MULTI-channel plus-size clothing specialist N Brown has continued to deliver strong results in the first half of this year, and has decided to roll-out its high street venture.

The Manchester-based group, which owns brands including Jacamo, Simply Be, High & Mighty and JD Williams, has been trialling a dual concept shop for its younger brands Simply Be and Jacamo for around 18 months, and now plans to expand it to a chain of 25.

The first wave of new store openings will be in Leeds and Derby in the run-up to Christmas, new chief executive Angela Spindler said.

She told TheBusinessDesk.com: “We are pleased with the results and the shape of the business. We believe the new store openings will allow us to access 85% of the population and we have developed a priority list of locations and have just recruited a property manager and head of retail so it’s just a question of filling the pipeline.”

In the 26 weeks to the end of August group revenue increased 8% to £409.6m, while profits were up 7.1% to £45m.

Current trading, despite the unseasonably warm weather in recent weeks is positive too with like-for-like sales up 8%, and Mrs Spindler declaring: “We have got off to a good start to the winter season, but could do with it getting a bit colder though, as knitwear sales aren’t doing as well as we’d liked.

“We have got a really good Christmas gift offer and from a product point of view the fashion lines are doing well and sales of boots are flying.”

The group said it was continuing to see more sales coming through online and from tablets and smartphones, which was allowing it to save costs.

In the first half alone it saved £1.5m on its marketing bill as it focused more on targeted customer emails and less on mailshots.~

Reflecting on her first few months with the business, Mrs Spindler said: “I have spent my first three months looking at the business in detail and I am extremely excited by what I have seen.

“As these results demonstrate, the business is performing well, with significant opportunity for growth in the future based around our products, delivery channels and international development.

“I am looking forward to working with the excellent management team to build a leading global retailer famous for making shopping for fashion easy and enjoyable, regardless of size.”

N Brown raised its half-year dividend 4% to 5.67p per share.