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Jan 21, 2016
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UK's N Brown reaffirms full-year outlook after Christmas cheer

By
Reuters
Published
Jan 21, 2016

British plus-size fashion retailer N Brown Group Plc said it was on track to meet full-year expectations after a good performance during the peak Christmas trading period.

Shares of N Brown, known for its brands SimplyBe and Jacamo, rose as much as 12 percent to 315.6 pence, one of the top gainers on the FTSE 250 midcap index.

The Manchester, northern England-based company said online sales rose 13 percent during the quarter, with 75 percent of new customer demand generated online.

"Christmas trading was really kick-started by the cyber weekend," Chief Executive Angela Spindler told Reuters.

Gifting items such as fragrance and candles saw strong demand during the Christmas period, Spindler added.

N Brown's Black Friday sales rose about 16 percent to 5.8 million pounds this year as customers increasingly went online for their holiday shopping.

N Brown


Online sales now represent about 66 percent of N Brown's sales compared with 58 percent last year.

However, demand for heavy winter-wear such as coats and knitwear remained muted due to the "very unusual weather" experienced in the season, Spindler said.

Some of Britain's hottest November and December temperatures hit demand for winter clothing, affecting sales at retailers such as Next Plc and Marks and Spencer Group.

N Brown, whose biggest brand JD Williams "performed well" during the quarter, said like-for-like revenue for the group rose 4.1 percent in the 18 weeks ended Jan. 2.

It cut its full-year product gross margin outlook to negative 75 basis points to flat from its earlier estimate of negative 25 basis points to 50 basis points, announced in October.

N Brown's shares were up 10.5 percent at 311.5 pence on the London Stock Exchange at 0845 GMT.

 

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