Manchester-based online retail group, N Brown, said it remains confident in its prospects, despite softer revenue trends outlined in its June 6 update to the stock market.

The group published details of trading for the 13 weeks to June 3, today (June 15), which showed that trading is in line with the board’s expectations, the softer revenue trend has continued into Q1 FY24, with an improving trend across the quarter, backed by continued investment in transformational priorities including moving towards full roll-out of a new mobile-first website for Jacamo, following the successful launch of a new Simply Be website.

The strong balance sheet is maintained, with total accessible liquidity of approximately £118m.

Today’s update reveals the softer product revenue seen in Q4 FY23 has broadly continued into Q1 FY24, reflecting poor early spring weather and low consumer confidence.

The impact of these factors on volumes has been partially offset by higher average item values, and the group saw improving product revenue trend across the quarter. Financial Services revenue reflects the lower FY23 closing debtor book position, as anticipated.

Progress in executing the group’s strategy has continued, including investment in the new mobile-first website for Jacamo, which follows the launch of the new website for Simply Be in FY23.

As part of a rebalancing of media investment across the group towards driving brand awareness and performance, Jacamo has also launched a new partnership with Manchester-based LADbible to create engaging video content and wider campaigns focused on passions and skills, with every featured look shoppable at Jacamo online.

As at June 3, 2023, the group had unsecured net cash of £30m and total accessible liquidity of £118.3m. As announced at the preliminary results on June 6, 2023, the revolving credit facility and overdraft remain undrawn and have been extended to December 2026.

N Brown said its expectations for FY24 remain unchanged from those outlined on June 6, and it remains confident in the strategic direction of the business and in the benefits of the ongoing investment in its digital transformation, with a focus on delivering sustainable profitable growth.

Chief executive, Steve Johnson, said: “We have started the year with an elevated focus on the transformational priorities which will deliver the biggest benefits, including new mobile-first websites for Jacamo and JD Williams, and the delivery of our new financial services platform.

“We are pleased with the progress we are making including moving towards the full roll-out to customers of the new Jacamo website.

“As flagged in our FY23 preliminary results, we expect weak consumer confidence to continue through FY24 and are, therefore, taking a disciplined approach to managing costs and driving margin improvements whilst we invest in the business for medium term growth.

“We remain confident in the strategy, and expect to continue to deliver progress across each of our strategic pillars this year.”