Plus-size catalogue Simply Be is to move from clicks to bricks
this year with a trial of three “concept stores”. The
stores will test whether the cost of a retail presence is
justified by the incremental customers and revenue generated by a
multichannel offering. Paul Kendrick, group development director,
says that parent company N Brown currently has approximately a 5
percent share of the “size 16 and up market”, and the
stores will test whether retail is a viable means of increasing
that market share on the high street.
In 2010, Simply Be reached revenues of £100 million for the
first time. It also experienced strong international growth
during the year. Sales from Germany and the USA were £4.2
million-almost double those of the previous year. In the USA,
Simply Be reached revenues of approximately £1 million since
its launch last August. To further accelerate overseas sales,
Simply Be will double its planned marketing spend this year
despatching 3 million catalogues this summer and increasing
online customer recruitment activity. This will include, says
Kendrick, paid search, affiliate marketing and social-media
campaigns. In Germany, sales were up by 41 percent and the
company reduced the rate of returns by two percentage points, but
at 61 percent it is still higher than N Brown would like. To
combat the higher than expected returns rate, Kendrick says that
Simply Be will take high-returning lines out of the range. It
will also improve sizing. To minimise returns due to fit, Simply
Be will now display European sizes from the start, rather than
requiring customers to use online conversion charts. He expects
Simply Be’s international business to break even by year three or
four.
In the 52 weeks to 26th February 2011, total group revenue at N
Brown increased by 4.2 percent to £718.8 million. Operating
profit rose 5.1 percent to £102.6 million, while pretax
profit was up 5.5 percent to £98.2 million.
Share