N Brown blames disappointing revenues on "poor early Spring weather"

N Brown Group, the owner of JD Williams, is blaming "poor early Spring weather and low consumer confidence" for its dipping revenues during the 13 weeks ending 3 June 2023 (Q1 2024).

The British clothing and footwear retailer revealed that revenues fell by 9.9% to £148.7 million pounds million and product revenue was down by 12% to £93.6 million. It also added that financial services revenue was down by 6.3% to £55.1 million.

However, the company has been bolstering its sales tactics to improve FY24 revenues. For example, it invested in a new mobile-first website for Jacamo, which follows the launch of the new website for Simply Be in FY23.

Jacamo has also launched a new media partnership with LADbible to create engaging video content and campaigns "focused on passions and skills".

Despite decreasing revenues, N Brown's expectations for FY24 remain unchanged from those outlined in its preliminary results on 6 June 2023.

Steve Johnson, Chief Executive of N Brown Group, commented: "We have started the year with an elevated focus on the transformational priorities which will deliver the biggest benefits, including new mobile-first websites for Jacamo and JD Williams, and the delivery of our new financial services platform.

"As flagged in our FY23 Preliminary results, we expect weak consumer confidence to continue through FY24 and are therefore taking a disciplined approach to managing costs and driving margin improvements whilst we invest in the business for medium-term growth.

"We remain confident in the strategy, and expect to continue to deliver progress across each of our strategic pillars this year."