Interim Management Statement (7753W)
25 Novembro 2010 - 5:06AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMAXN
RNS Number : 7753W
Alexon Group PLC
25 November 2010
25 November 2010
ALEXON GROUP plc
Interim Management Statement
Alexon Group plc ("Alexon" or the "Group") today makes the
following interim management statement for the period 1st August
2010 to 23rd November 2010.
Alexon Group is performing robustly in the continued tough
trading environment and uncertain climate. Group like-for-like
sales for the period 1st August to 23rd November were up 0.4%,
which includes a tough six week trading period around the
Comprehensive Spending Review. In the period we have experienced
overall margin growth of 0.4 percentage points. Within this, across
the six brands, Autumn Winter sales margin has increased by 2.8
percentage points, driven by improvements to ranges and a continued
focus on improving our control of promotional activity combined
with a focus on reducing the level of discounting across product
ranges.
Trading performance across the entire brand portfolio has been
encouraging in recent weeks. Kaliko in particular was very positive
in like-for-like terms (both sales and margins) and continues to
benefit from new store and concession refits. The Autumn Winter
collection for the Alexon brand is the first under its new design
team and we have already seen a very positive uplift in sales and
margin this half. Ann Harvey has continued a positive like-for-like
trend through the second half and has delivered improved margin
growth. In the period Eastex sales have remained broadly flat;
however, there has been a small improvement in margin as a result
of the actions taken on buying and promotional activity. Whilst
Dash sales in total are ahead of last year, on a like-for-like
basis they have underperformed. Dash is a 100% cotton product brand
and has seen some impact from increased cotton pricing and Chinese
labour costs; however, through careful management we have protected
margin and in the second half this has remained flat. Minuet has
underperformed our expectations. Early in the period we identified
a stock mix problem which negatively impacted sales performance.
This has been addressed for the Spring Summer season.
The key focus of the board continues to be the acceleration of
the turnaround following our successful Capital Raising of March
2010. The growth of the business through new store refits has
continued. Each brand now has a new store design concept and the
programme to roll these out has begun. Stores refitted to date have
out-performed our expectations in both sales and margin.
We continue to invest in our online capabilities, most recently
with the appointment of Giles Delafeld who joins Alexon on 1st
February 2011 in the newly created role of E-Commerce Director.
Giles will further develop Alexon's online capabilities, an area
which offers significant growth opportunities for the Group going
forward. Total online sales for the period have increased 125%.
We are encouraged by the trends in our performance over the last
three weeks which have shown marked improvement. That said, the
consumer environment remains uncertain. We see no immediate change
to this and re-iterate our cautious approach.
Enquiries:
Alexon Group plc 01582 723131
Jane McNally, Chief Executive Officer
John Boyle, Group Finance Director and Company Secretary
Brunswick Group LLP 020 7404 5959
Simon Sporborg / James Olley
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
IMSLLFVTLTLSFII
Alexon (LSE:AXN)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Abr 2024 até Mai 2024
Alexon (LSE:AXN)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Mai 2023 até Mai 2024