N Brown sales impacted by poor spring weather
N Brown Group, the owner of JD Williams, Simply Be and Jacamo, has posted a drop in first quarter sales after poor early spring weather and low consumer confidence impacted trade.
The 13-week period to 3 June saw the group’s product sales and financial revenue decline by 11.9% and 6.3% respectively. This meant that group revenue decreased by 9.9% to £147.8 million.
Steve Johnson, N Brown chief executive, said: “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.”
N Brown has been investing in a new mobile first website for Jacamo following the launch of a new Simply Be website in the previous financial year. It has also launched a new partnership for Jacamo with LADbible.
Johnson added: “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.”
N Brown said its expectations for its full year remain unchanged.
Looking ahead, Johnson said: “We remain confident in the strategy, and expect to continue to deliver progress across each of our strategic pillars this year.”
