Simply Be owner N Brown rebounds to profit despite shrinking sales

Simply Be owner N Brown bounced back to a first-half profit despite sales continuing to decline amid bad weather and challenging market conditions.

The Manchester-headquartered online fashion retailer reported a £200,000 profit for the six months ending August, compared to a £2.8million loss for the same period last year.

It credited the result to lower administration and payroll costs, a stronger focus on ‘profitable trade’, and an improving trajectory in turnover.

But total revenue decreased by 6.7 per cent to £277.2million, largely driven by product sales falling by 7.9 per cent as ‘unseasonal weather’ dampened demand for seasonal ranges and consumer spending remained subdued.

Yet while total orders did drop by 8.1 per cent to 3.4 million, the average transaction rose from about £83.30 to £84.10.

And in the first five weeks of the third quarter, N Brown said product revenues were only 2 per cent down year-on-year.

N Brown also expects sales to continue recovering over the second half of the financial year, partly supported by higher marketing spending.

Alongside this, it forecasts annual adjusted earnings before nasties to align with management expectations.

Steve Johnson, chief executive of N Brown, said: ‘Our focus on maximising profitable sales and managing the cost base in a soft trading environment has ensured we remain on track.’

Founded in 1859, N Brown owns men’s fashion brand Jacamo and women’s labels Simply Be and JD Williams, whose brand ambassadors have included the television stars Gok Wan, Davina McCall and Amanda Holden.

In 2023, JD Williams launched a new premium line aimed at middle-aged women called Anthology and was named the headline sponsor for the ITV dating reality show My Mum Your Dad.

More recently, Jacamo launched the ‘Men’s Style. Sorted’ campaign, while Simply Be began its ‘Find That Feeling’ campaign for the Autumn/Winter season. 

In the last financial year, N Brown swung back to a £5.3million profit after posting a £71.1million pre-tax loss in the prior 12 months.

N Brown Group shares were 1.8 per cent higher at 28.5p on mid-Thursday afternoon, taking their gains to approximately 68 per cent this year.

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