Sales at N Brown (BWNG) grew 3 per cent on a like-for-like basis in the first 15 weeks of the year. While this was perhaps softer than markets had been forecasting, it was in line with management's expectations and down to a number of one-off changes as part of the group's transformation programme.
A shift in the timing of marketing spend led to flat sales in March and April, but this recovered to high single-digit growth in June and May. Changes to product mix, which will benefit the company long-term, also affected performance. However, the Simply Be and Jacamo brands still grew sales by 6 per cent and 10 per cent respectively, while revenue at JD Williams dipped 1 per cent. Simply Be/Jacamo stores sales rose 20 per cent and demand in the US grew 15 per cent.
