N Brown Q1 sales hampered by poor weather
In the quarter ended 3 June 2023, product revenue fell by 11.9% to £93.6m, while Financial Services revenue fell by 6.3% to £55.1m
N Brown has seen revenues fall by 9.9% to £148.7m in its first quarter of trading, attributed to poor weather at the start of Spring as well as lower consumer confidence over the period.
In the quarter ended 3 June 2023, product revenue fell by 11.9% to £93.6m, while Financial Services revenue fell by 6.3% to £55.1m, reflecting the lower FY23 closing debtor book position.
According to the group, the impact of poor weather and low confidence on volumes was partially offset by higher average item values, and it noted an improving product revenue trend across the quarter.
Over the period, the group said it continued to invest in “transformational priorities”, including moving towards a full roll-out of its new mobile-first website for Jacamo, following the successful launch of a new Simply Be website.
CEO Steve Johnson said: “We have started the year with an elevated focus on the transformational priorities which will deliver the biggest benefits, including new mobile-first websites for Jacamo and JD Williams, and the delivery of our new financial services platform. We are pleased with the progress we are making including moving towards the full roll-out to customers of the new Jacamo website.
“As flagged in our FY23 preliminary results, we expect weak consumer confidence to continue through FY24 and are therefore taking a disciplined approach to managing costs and driving margin improvements whilst we invest in the business for medium-term growth. We remain confident in the strategy, and expect to continue to deliver progress across each of our strategic pillars this year.”
