BROWN (N) GROUP PLC — Earnings Release 2013

Jul 2, 2013

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RNS Number : 3461I

Brown (N.) Group PLC

02 July 2013

2 July 2013

N Brown Group plc

INTERIM MANAGEMENT AND AGM TRADING STATEMENT

At the Annual General Meeting being held today at 12.30pm Andrew Higginson, Chairman, will make the following statement on current trading:

I am pleased to report that the positive trends we disclosed when we reported our full year results on 1 May 2013 have improved even further in the last 10 weeks. In the 17 weeks ended 29 June 2013 total group revenue increased by 8.0% and like-for-like revenue was up by 7.8% after excluding sales from stores opened in the last year.

Contributions to the revenue growth have come from all our major brands, product groups and channels, including online, stores and international. Ladieswear revenue has recovered as the weather has improved, and we continue to see strong growth from menswear and footwear. Home and gift's sales momentum is continuing and it remains our fastest growing product category.

The key brands targeted at customers under 50 - Simply Be, Fashion World and Jacamo, all delivered good growth.  Within the brands targeted at customers over 50, there were strong performances from Marisota, House of Bath and Julipa, with the JD Williams group of brands also growing, although at a more modest rate than our over 50's brands overall.

Customer recruitment has gone according to plan, with spend level maintained at last year's increased rate.  We are progressing with our contact optimisation programme, reducing the number of brochures mailed to customers and investing more in the online channel, which now accounts for 56% of total home shopping revenue.

The Marisota and Jacamo websites have now been launched in the United States to complement Simply Be and Figleaves and we continue to see exciting opportunities in this market. In the UK, the dual fascia Simply Be/Jacamo stores are making good progress and we will be deciding shortly whether to open any more in time for Christmas 2013.

Angela Spindler joined the business as Chief Executive on 1 July 2013, taking over from Alan White who retires from the group on 31 October 2013.

We have made a good start to the year and we will endeavour to keep up the momentum whilst recognising that our customers continue to face pressure on their disposable income. The board remains confident of a positive outcome for the year.

-Ends-

For further information please contact:

N Brown Group plc	0161 238 2202
Angela Spindler, CEO
Alan White, Director
Dean Moore, Finance Director
Website : www.nbrown.co.uk
Newgate Communications
Fergus Wylie / Jonathan Clare/ Sophie Morello Email : nbrown@newgatecomms.com	0207 680 6550

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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