* Higher promotional activity takes toll on retailers
* British retailers reported mixed Christmas trading
* Moss Bros forecasts full-year loss
* N Brown shares slump 26%
(Releads, adds details, Primark, updates shares)
By Noor Zainab Hussain
Jan 16 (Reuters) - Moss Bros and N Brown
added to a depressed outlook for British retailers on Thursday
by saying fewer shoppers were visiting their stores, which would
hit full-year results.
Suit and formal clothing specialist Moss Bros expects an
annual pretax loss, while N Brown said its adjusted profit would
be below estimates, sending the plus-sized fashion retailer
shares plunging by 25%.
"We have seen more intensive discounting from our
competitors and a materially lower level of footfall across the
high streets and shopping centres of the UK. Despite this, we
have resisted discounting pressures," Moss Bros Chief Executive
Brian Brick said in a trading statement.
A Christmas crunch has heaped more pain on British
retailers, as changing habits and belt-tightening exposed the
industry's struggle for growth and its slim margin for error.
Many retailers, including some of the biggest names such as
department store owner John Lewis Partnership, have struggled to
get British shoppers to part with their cash during a year of
political instability and worries over Brexit.
Hopes had been lifted ahead of their peak selling season by
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decisive election victory, but
there was no significant bounce back over the Christmas period.
However, Primark, the budget fashion chain owned by
Associated British Foods, bucked the trend with a 4%
rise in UK sales in the 16 weeks to Jan. 4, with a "marginal"
fall in like-for-like sales.
Primark said it won market share in a UK clothing sector
that struggled for growth in the run-up to Christmas.
This was the case at Moss Bros, which said it expects to
report a full-year adjusted pretax loss of about 1 million
pounds ($1.3 million) and said that total sales in the 24 weeks
to Jan. 11 were down 3% on the same period a year ago.
"The year ahead will continue to be challenging until we see
an improvement in consumer confidence and a stabilisation in
footfall across UK shopping destinations," it said.
Moss Bros shares were largely unchanged.
'HIGHLY PROMOTIONAL'
N Brown, which has shut shops to focus on online sales, also
said it had been hit by a poor performance at its financial
services unit, with its shares falling 25% by 1035 GMT.
It said its financial year 2020 adjusted pretax profit would
be between 70 million pounds and 72 million pounds ($91 million
to $94 million), lower than consensus estimates of between 78
million pounds and 84.1 million pounds.
Moss Bros, which in March reported its first annual adjusted
pretax loss since 2011, said it has seen "more intensive"
discounting from its competitors and fewer shoppers.
"N Brown is also reporting a highly promotional UK market,
(-50% to -70% discounts) with not much downtime between Black
Friday and Christmas offers for many," Jefferies analysts said.
While N Brown's digital revenue rose 2.5% in the 18 weeks to
Jan. 4, its total product revenue fell .
However, the company reported higher online sales of party
tops, athleisure, and occasion wear.
($1 = 0.7667 pounds)
(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain, Rishika Chatterjee and
Aniruddha Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr and
Alexander Smith)
