Recovery delayed at French Connection
Orders down as tough markets continue
The continuing downturn in the UK retail sector is holding back the recovery strategy implemented by fashion retailer French Connection.
In March, French Connection said that after a downturn in trade in the second half of the financial year to the end of January, it had “learnt lessons” and was working to meet customers’ expectations in both the strength of product design and its presentation in-store.
Improvements included changes to the retail buying team by and a revamp of the planned ranges for 2005.
Today, in a statement to shareholders at the company’s annual meeting. chairman and chief executive Stephen Marks said: “It has been widely reported that the retail environment in the UK has been very difficult over the last three months and our experience is in line with this.
“The improvements we made to our ranges have been well received and are having a positive impact on our sales. It is unfortunate that the difficult conditions in the high street have prevented the improvement being as rapid as we were looking for.
“Our customers at wholesale are happier with the products but they are finding it just as challenging in the high street and therefore repeat orders have been slower than normal.”
He added: “The effort that has been put in by all our staff to produce the best possible products gives us confidence that we are going in the right direction and that our performance will continue to improve. We therefore remain hopeful that we can return to growth this financial year.”
