// Adjusted pre-tax profits rose 46.6% to £43.1million in N Brown’s full year
// Growth was driven by its ‘strategic brands’ of Simply Be, JD Williams and Jacamo
Simply Be and Jacamo owner N Brown’s full-year profits have surged despite a dip in sales.
Adjusted pre-tax profits jumped 46.6% to £43.1million and, on a statutory basis, more than doubled from £9.2millon to £19.2 million.
Despite the profits jump, sales edged down 1.8% to £715.7million over the year to 26 February.
However, the online retail group, which also owns JD Williams, Ambrose Wilson and Home Essentials, said its active customer numbers increased for the first time in four years.
The retailer said sales at its “strategic brands”, which consist of Simply Be, JD Williams and Jacamo, grew 9.9%, which it said was down to a strong performance in clothing and footwear.
However, this was brought down by a sales decline at its heritage brands.
Total product sales across the N Brown group dipped 0.6%, although the retailer said if the impact of closing lingerie retailer Figleaves, which was integrated into Simply Be over the year, was excluded this would have grown 4%.
The retailer ploughed more investment into its strategic brands over the year, hiring Amanda Holden and Davina McCall as brand ambassadors for JD Williams.
READ MORE: N Brown hires former Arcadia director as head of buying
N Brown has also been investing in improving its websites and will roll out a new front-end platform to Simply Be in its current financial year, which will create a mobile-first experience.
N Brown chief executive Steve Johnson said that it was transforming into a “more focused digital business”.
He said: “Our strategic brands returned to growth in the year with growing customer numbers. As we move forward, we are evolving our priorities to concentrate our growth focus on Simply Be, JD Williams and Jacamo, where we see the strongest market potential. We’re executing on our investment plans to unlock these opportunities including through new websites which will be rolled out progressively over the coming months.”
Johnson said that the business was “significantly better placed” than it was before the pandemic.
He added: “Although cautious in the short-term due to inflationary impacts and consumer behaviour, we remain confident that over the medium-term our strategy will support the delivery of 7% product revenue growth with a 13% EBITDA margin.”
Sustainability was also a big focus for N Brown and it has achieved its target of sustainably sourcing 30% of its own brand product in its last financial year. The retailer yesterday revealed JD Williams had launched a new in-house designed sustainable brand Anise.
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