N Brown reports 4.1 percent increase in Q3 sales

N Brown, for the 18 week period to December 31, 2016 reported rise in group revenue of 4.1 percent and said that the company is on track to meet full year expectations. Online revenues were up 12 percent, with penetration now 70 percent, 4ppts up year-on-year. Revenues of the Power Brands increased 10 percent. N Brown said, Christmas trading was driven by record Cyber fortnight.

Commenting on the update, Angela Spindler, CEO, said in a press release, “I am pleased to report a good trading period, with standout performances from ladies wear and the Simply Be brand. All key brands and categories grew in the period, including our traditional titles which had diluted performance in the first half. We are operating in what continues to be a challenging period for the industry and are still in the process of delivering some key elements of our transformation plan.”

Power Brands post positive growth momentum

The company said, its focus on driving the three Power Brands – JD Williams, Simply Be and Jacamo –worked well during the period. Power Brand revenue was up 10 percent and the active customer file increased by 13 percent, outperforming the total active customer file which was flat.

Revenue of JD Williams overall was up high single-digit year-on-year. Simply Be revenue grew double-digit year-on-year, while Jacamo grew mid-single-digit, against a tough comparative last year.

The support brands and traditional segment both recorded low single-digit revenue growth. Within the support brands the strongest performer was Fashion World. The traditional titles, N Brown said, are now back into positive year-on-year growth. At the category level, ladies wear recorded the strongest growth by some measure, up double-digit. Menswear and homewares both recorded mid-single digit revenue growth year-on-year, and footwear was flat.

The company launched its new USA website in September. This impacted performance through peak with revenue down 3.5 percent year-on-year and 19 percent on a constant currency basis.

Picture:N Brown