Manchester-based fashion giant N Brown has hailed its "good start" to its financial year as Amanda Holden and Davina McCall sign on to be the new faces of JD Williams.
The listed group has revealed the 13 weeks to May 29, 2021, saw its product revenue grow by 15.5% because of the performance of Jacamo, Simply Be, JD Williams, Ambrose Wilson and Home Essentials.
N Brown said the first quarter rise was as a result of the "strategic transformation" which has taken place over the last two years.
In the period its strategic brands were 81% of product revenue compared to 67% in the same period two years ago and represents the first quarter of product revenue growth since the third quarter of FY18.
Within its product lines, clothing and footwear sales have continued to recover and demand increased 21% compared to the prior period with own brand womenswear up 27% and menswear own brand up 25%.
Demand in home and gift was lower than the prior period which benefitted from pandemic-related purchases of garden furniture and personal grooming products, the group added.
Chief executive Steve Johnson said: "The strategic transformation initiatives we have enacted over the past two years have now started to deliver product revenue growth, with customers responding well to the new ranges across our core brands.
"We have a number of exciting initiatives in the pipeline and today we have announced a new partnership with Amanda Holden and Davina McCall to be the new faces of JD Williams, leading some innovative new campaigns which will serve as a rich source of inspiration for our customers.
"Whilst the external environment remains challenging, we have made a good start to the financial year and trading remains in-line with our expectations."
