BROWN IN THE RED
Plus-size fashion firm
N Brown blamed “challenging market conditions” for a 3.1% drop in sales.
The Manchester-based business insisted its power brands – Simply Be, JD Williams and menswear arm Jacamo – had done well. But a bid to move customers from its Fifty Plus offshoot to JD Williams, together with other issues, dented half-year sales. To make matters worse, a £22million bill for closing stores and around the same for PPI compensation in its finance arm, meant it lost another £27m in the six months to September.