Cost of promotions hits N Brown figures

CATALOGUE and online shopping group N Brown yesterday warned that aggressive promotional discounting had cut into profit margins but sales remained buoyant.

The group, which also owns Figleaves and High & Mighty, said price-cutting was necessary to help drive revenue - which increased 1.6 per cent on a like-for-like basis in the 18 weeks to 2 July. The push to pull in customers, which N Brown said was in line with the sector, saw gross margins dip by 0.2 per cent in the period, but total group revenue rose 5.1 per cent.