N Brown makes ‘encouraging’ start with Q1 sales rise
N Brown, the owner of Simply Be, Jacamo and JD Williams, increased its group revenue by 2.5% in its first quarter with like-for-like sales rising by 1.5%.
Product revenue climbed by 4.3%.
The group said its ‘Power Brands’ continued to outperform the wider group performance in the 13 weeks to 29 May, with the active customer file increasing by 9%.
Simply Be and Jacamo both achieved mid double-digit total revenue growth driven by an improved product proposition and increased brand awareness. In addition, the brands’ stores continued to perform well, with like-for-like sales growth of 8%.
However, JD Williams saw its revenues come in at broadly flat which the retailer attributed largely to strategic price investments.
Homewares delivered revenue growth of 20%.
N Brown chief executive, 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.”
The group said the current financial year will be significantly weighted to the second half as the benefits of the changes made flow through.
Spindler added: “The scale of change is significant, but we are excited about the transformation under way. Full year guidance remains unchanged.”
