French Connection shares left on the shelf after sales disappoint
French Connection shares plunged by an unfashionable 10.66 per cent yesterday after the fashion chain posted worse-than-expected full-year sales and warned of challenging conditions on the high street.
The retailer, which was founded in the early 1970s by Stephen Marks, has been trying to reverse its fortunes after years of weak sales and profit warnings.
It brought in a new design team, closed stores, reduced the amount of stock it sells and has also re-adjusted its pricing after being viewed as too expensive relative to its clothing peers.
French Connection said it reduced losses to £800,000 for the year to 31 January, down from a loss of £4.4m the previous year, which was in line with market expectations.
Group revenue fell 5.8 per cent to £178.5m, which it blamed on the closure of nine stores. “In spite of difficult retail trading conditions in the second half of the year, these results show that we have made another step towards returning French Connection to profitability,” Marks said.
UK and European like-for-like sales fell by three per cent, but wholesale revenues were up 4.6 per cent, which Marks said showed the “continued strength of the French Connection brand worldwide”.