Mild autumn weather dampens sales growth at N Brown

16th Jan 2014 07:54

- Full-year forecasts 'broadly in line'- LFL revenues grow 5.1 per cent, under forecasts- Online exposure continues to growHome-shopping group N Brown said that sales in its third quarter were affected by an unusually mild autumn despite growth picking up over the key festive season.Nevertheless, forecasts for the full year ending March 1st remain "broadly in line with expectations".The internet and catalogue fashion retailer said that like-for-like (LFL) revenue rose by 5.1% in the 19 weeks to January 11th, coming in light of the consensus forecast for 7% growth. This also represented a slowdown from the 7.8% LFL growth registered in the first half ended August 31st 2013.The company, behind such brands as SimplyBe, Jacamo and Figleaves, said that LFL growth had accelerated to 7.2% in the last six weeks of the period covering Christmas and New Year.The rate of gross margin was said to be a little below expectations due to markdown activity, which has delivered a "clean stock position" coming into 2014.The firm said that online participation continues to grow and now accounts of 58% of revenues after services improvements for customers."We expect online penetration to continue to increase steadily as we implement additional planned improvements to our customers' online experience, build the usage of click & collect for order fulfilment and shorten customer order lead times still further," the company said. Meanwhile, N Brown said it was encouraged by the performance of its seven established stores which generated LFL growth of 34%. The company aims to expand to a chain of around 25 stores in major shopping destinations across the UK as part of its "multi-channel strategy".BC