// N Brown announces latest contingency plans amid the coronavirus outbreak
// The group – which owns Jacamo and Simply Be – will take immediate measures to preserve liquidity
N Brown has become the latest retailer to take precautionary measures and ensure costs are reduced amid the coronavirus pandemic.
For the first two weeks of the new financial year, the retail group said it was trading in line with expectations.
Despite this N Brown, which owns fashion retailers Jacamo and Simply Be, saw a “very significant and sudden reduction” in customer demand in the last week.
READ MORE:
- 120 jobs at risk as N Brown undergoes “strategic transformation”
- N Brown hires Sarah Welsh to newly created role of retail CEO
Daily product sales were down 40 per cent compared to expectations, with the group predicting a material reduction in demand throughout the 2021 financial year.
Consequently, N Brown has taken action including a “significant reduction” in marketing expenditure with immediate effect.
Meanwhile, it is working with HMRC to secure the deferral of all tax and national insurance payments and stopping stock purchases immediately.
N Brown said it would re-evaluating its stock intake plans, freezing all recruitment and reviewing organisational structures.
It currently has financing facilities in place totalling £652.5 million.
N Brown will not be recommending a final dividend for the financial year ended February 29, and will suspend dividend payments until further notice.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
