N Brown grows menswear offer

N Brown is expanding its menswear offer

• Increase image
• View all images

Home shopping group N Brown is expanding its menswear offer and plans to more than double the proportion of sales the category generates.

Chief executive Alan White said he hoped to grow menswear to contribute 20% of group sales this year. Last year it accounted for 8% of sales, with sales up 24% to £46 million for the year to March 1. Growth came primarily from N Brown's Premier Man and Southbay ranges, which target middle-aged men, and the more fashionable Resume range.

White said: "We are driving menswear because market share is a lot lower than womenswear. We are currently number three in terms of market share for online womenswear sales, but only number eight in online menswear."

He added that he hoped a TV ad campaign for N Brown's outsize branded menswear catalogue Jacamo, which debuted last year, would help attract new male customers.

White also plans to significantly expand the menswear collection. "We increased womenswear by adding more pages [to catalogues], and we'll do the same for menswear, with 16 extra pages [across catalogues]," he said.

The focus on menswear follows an impressive trading performance by N Brown, which also owns home shopping brands Simply Be and JD Williams.

Group sales rose by 16.6% to £610.9m for the year to March 1. Pre-tax profit climbed 19.4% to £78m and current trading has remained strong, with sales up 12.1% in the eight weeks to April 26.