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RNS Number : 2210V
Brown (N.) Group PLC
07 July 2009
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Tuesday 7 July
N Brown Group
INTERIM MANAGEMENT AND AGM TRADING STATEMENT
At the Annual General Meeting being held today at 12.30pm Lord Alliance of
Manchester CBE, Chairman, will make the following statement on current trading.
In the 18 weeks ended 4 July 2009 group turnover increased by 5.1%, in line with
our plan, with contributions from all our major customer and product groups.
Ladieswear and menswear continue to benefit from the extended ranges of branded
clothing exclusively available for our customers in a full range of sizes and
fittings.We are still seeing strong contributions from the newer catalogue
brands, such as Marisota and Jacamo.
Sales have been driven by the improved targeting and quality of our home
shopping catalogues and the recent warmer weather has benefited the demand for
summer clothing and footwear. In addition we have continued to invest heavily in
our websites to improve their presentation and functionality, and this has
resulted in a 25% increase in online sales, which now represent 37% of the
total. We still have a number of major enhancements in the pipeline which will
continue to improve the online experience for our customers, both from a sales
and service perspective.
Due to the material uncertainties within the economy, we budgeted to be more
cautious in customer recruitment, the provision of credit facilities and cost
control. Whilst this has constrained our sales growth slightly, it has also led
to a slowing in the rate of debtors growth, which is currently 8% compared with
13% at the year end, improving our cash flow position significantly relative to
last year. We are proactively managing those debtors who fall into arrears with
alternative payment schemes where possible. The expected increase in bad debts
has resulted in a reduction in the rate of gross margin by 1.5%, although at the
pre-tax profit level this is fully offset by operational cost savings and
reduced interest charges.
The group's financial position remains strong and the board continues to believe
that our business model and strategy to target niche customers and products will
prove to be beneficial in the remainder of the financial year.
ENQUIRIES:
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| N Brown Group plc | |
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| Alan White, Chief Executive | Tel: 0161 238 2202 |
| Dean Moore, Finance Director | Tel: 0161 238 2208 |
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| Website: www.nbrown.co.uk | |
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| | |
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| Kreab Gavin Anderson | |
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| Fergus Wylie | Tel: 020 7554 1400 |
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| Clotilde Gros | |
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This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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