N Brown has reported a 1.6 per cent decline in overall sales for the 18-week period ending 5 January, as in-store performance dragged down online growth.

The retail group’s three fashion brands - JD Williams, Simply Be and Jacamo - outperformed the rest of the business with a 0.1 per cent product sales rise and a 6.4 per cent increase in online sales, but this was not enough to deliver overall growth.

Simply Be and Jacamo saw product revenue rise 1.6 per cent and 5.5 per cent respectively, but JD Williams product sales dropped 3.3 per cent.

Secondary brand sales fell 5.2 per cent though, while traditional brand sales dropped by 22.9 per cent.

N Brown stated that online sales now account for 78.5 per cent of its product revenue, compared to 71 per cent the same period a year ago. Online sales of Simply Be, Jacamo and JD Williams increased by 5.9 per cent, 6.8 per cent and 4.2 per cent respectively during the period.

“We continue to manage the anticipated decline of our legacy offline business and remain focused on improving our customer proposition to drive profitable online growth,” commented chief executive Steve Johnson.

“Trading over the cyber and Christmas periods was relatively consistent and in line with our expectations, with the group benefiting from a more targeted and efficient approach to its promotional activity,” he added.

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