Home Shopping Retailer N Brown Post-Election Trade "Subdued"

6th Jul 2010 07:35

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Home shopping retailer N. Brown Group PLC (BWNG.LN) Tuesday said trading has been "subdued" since the U.K. general election, with comparable sales ticking up just 0.1% in the 18 weeks to July 3. The firm--which sells clothes for big and tall people through catalogues and online--said group revenue rose 1.1% in the same 18 weeks. It said its customers have held back on spending since the election while they assess the likely impact on their personal situation of the coalition government's new policies. Nonetheless, N. Brown said it has increased its share in women's clothing and footwear even though it said sales for the market as a whole for customers aged over 65 and for size 16-plus clothing have fallen. N Brown now makes 41% of all sales from online. It said the increased level of online trading will offset a reduction in gross margin. Gross margin is 0.2% down on the same point last year--compared with an expected 0.3% decline at the time of its preliminary results--due to actions taken last year to reduce the ratio of bad debt to sales. These measures have reduced revenue by almost 2% compared with the same period last year, the company said. -By Hannah Benjamin, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9298; [email protected] Order free Annual Report for N Brown Group plc Visit http://djnweurope.ar.wilink.com/?ticker=GB00B1P6ZR11 or call +44 (0)208 391 6028 (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 06, 2010 02:35 ET (06:35 GMT)