Fashion focus helps New Look sales rise 2.8%

UK: Fashion focus helps New Look sales rise 2.8%

By just-style.com | 6 January 2009

Value fashion retailer New Look today (6 January) reported a strong Christmas performance with UK like-for-like sales up by 2.8%, but said it expects the market to become more difficult in 2009.

The privately owned retailer said total group sales rose 14.5% in the 14 weeks to 3 January, helped by the opening of new stores in UK and Europe.

It also managed to lift its gross margin by 170 basis points by waiting until Boxing Day before launching its sale, despite what it called "unprecedented levels of discounting on the high street" in the run-up to Christmas.

"We are winning in an increasingly difficult market by staying focused on the delivery of fashion our customers want at prices they can afford," said executive chairman Phil Wrigley.

"We expect the market will become more difficult in 2009 but we will continue to invest to drive growth in the UK and overseas."

In a trading update, the company said its men's wear continues to grow market share, complementing a growth in women's wear which is now at 5.0% market share, an increase of 0.3% over the previous 12 months.

In the UK, the company is adding a further 350,000 square feet of trading space in the current financial year. It has also signed a new franchise agreement for Russia and expects to open its first store in Moscow early in 2009.

New Look has 607 stores in the UK and Ireland, a further 23 stores in France and Belgium, and 19 franchise stores in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

In addition there are 291 stores trading under the name Mim in France and Belgium.

Its strategy is to offer 'Great fashion at great prices' and in 2008 focused on developing its product ranges and adding more in-house designs.

Sectors: Apparel, Finance, Retail

Companies: New Look