JOUL.L Regulatory News (JOUL)

Joules Group Plc

('Joules' or the 'Group')

Christmas Trading Update

Continued strong trading through Christmas period

Joules, the British premium lifestyle brand, today updates on the Christmas trading performance of its retail business for the seven-week period to 7 January 2018.

Joules delivered a strong performance over the Christmas period with total retail sales* up 19.2% against the comparable period last year. This was driven by continued growth across both the Store and E-commerce channels. Retail gross margin, over the same period, is expected to be in line with the prior year as we maintained our disciplined and selective approach to promotional activity.

Colin Porter, CEO, commented:

"The Group's retail performance through the Christmas trading period is testament to the strength of the Joules brand, unique product proposition and customer engagement. Both stores and e-commerce channels delivered good growth with the increasing awareness and popularity of the brand."

Joules will announce its Interim results for the 26-week period ended 26 November 2017 on Wednesday 31 January 2018.

This announcement contains inside information.

*Retail sales are stated including VAT and returns received, or anticipated, from sales in the period. Retail sales in this statement include Stores and E-commerce channels and exclude the Shows channel. At the start of the trading statement period, Joules operated 117 stores compared to 107 at the same point last year.

Enquiries:

Joules - 'a premium lifestyle brand with an authentic British heritage'

Established in Britain by Tom Joule nearly three decades ago, Joules is a premium lifestyle brand with an authentic heritage.

A true multi-channel lifestyle brand, Joules carefully designs clothing, footwear and accessories for women, men and children, as well as an expanding range of homewares, toiletries and eyewear collections, with personality to match those of its customers' colourful and uplifting outlooks, available through its own retail stores, online, rural shows and events and wholesale channels.

Quality, Britishness, family values, colour and humour make Joules stand out from the crowd. This approach, along with an unwavering attention to detail, and drive to surprise and delight its customers with unexpected product details, remains at the heart of everything Joules creates and has been central to the brand's success and expansion.

www.joules.com | www.joulesgroup.com 

Joules Fast Facts

· Joules is an international brand, available in the UK, USA, Germany, France and other European markets

· Joules operates 118* stores in the UK and ROI across a range of location types, has a significant online business, and a well-established wholesale business with over 1,500 stockists worldwide including John Lewis, Next Label, Nordstrom and Dillards

· Joules' talented in-house print design team lovingly hand-draw all of the prints you see within its collections each season

· Joules is proud of its British heritage and still has strong roots in Market Harborough, the site of its first shop and head office since day one

· Colin Porter became CEO in September 2015, with Tom Joule focusing on the creative side of the business in his capacity as Chief Brand Officer

· At the recent 2017 Drapers Awards, Joules won Fashion Retail Business of the Year Award (£101m-£500m revenue) and also won the Mainstream Brand of the Year Award for the second year running.

* Figures are stated as at 26 November 2017