Brown Group Regulatory News (BWNG)

26 Jan 2006 07:01

Brown (N.) Group PLC26 January 2006 26 January 2006 N Brown Group plc Trading Update Home shopping sales have increased by 11.6% in the 21 weeks to 21st January2006, with strong performances from all our key customer groups and productareas during the period. Excluding sales from the House of Bath catalogueacquired in November 2004 home shopping sales for the same period were up by9.2%. Group sales from continuing operations rose by 7.1%, which includes a £6mreduction in House of Stirling's turnover, planned as part of our program todiscontinue low margin business. The main driver of the sales growth has been the improved clothing and footwearranges, complemented by the development of new mid-season mailings to enhancethe frequency of purchasing and the average spend per customer. Sales ofladieswear were up by 13% and our footwear range enjoyed a 24% increase inturnover. Our younger brands, Simply Be and FashionWorld, targeted at the 30-45age group, saw the strongest growth with sales up by 19.3%, although the coremid-life titles also performed well generating 5.5% more turnover. Customerrecruitment campaigns have progressed well in the autumn and these new customershave contributed to the business growth. In terms of our channels to market,online sales increased by 60% and now represent 16% of total sales. The mix of product sales has produced a gross margin rate on home shopping saleswhich is at a similar level to last year, but it has also contributed to a 5%reduction in the average selling price. This has resulted in higher volumes andtherefore higher operational costs than expected. Overall we are pleased withthe performance in the second half to date and expect the results for the yearto be towards the top end of our expectations. We believe our focus on niche customers and products will continue to drive ourbusiness forward in the year ahead. For further information please contact: N Brown Group plcAlan White, Chief Executive Tel: 0161 238 2002Dean Moore, Finance Director Website : www.nbrown.co.uk Gavin Anderson & CompanyFergus Wylie / Charlotte Stone Tel: 020 7554 1400 A conference call for analysts and investors will be held at 9.30am UK Time. Todial into the call, please call Tel: 01296 317500. An operator will answer thecall - please provide them with the pin number C 797787. A recording of the call will be available for 24 hours, Tel: 01296 618700 / Pin 689943. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange