Amanda Holden and Davina McCall are to be the new brand ambassadors for JD Williams, its parent company N Brown Group said today. The update came as it reported a 15.5% rise in product sales in its five strategic brands, of which JD Williams is one.
The signing of Holden and McCall is part of N Brown Group’s investment in marketing in order to raise awareness of JD Williams among its target customer group.
The home shopping group is now two years into a strategic transformation, and says today’s figures reflect that. The retailer said that sales from its five core brands – JD Williams, Jacamo, Simply Be, Ambrose Wilson and Home Essentials – accounted for 81% of product revenue, up from 67% two years ago.
Overall, N Brown Group said today that product revenue rose by 4.6% in the first quarter of its financial yea. Sales from its strategic brands –reached £86.1m in the 13 weeks to May 29, 15.5% up on the same time last year. Sales from its other brands down came in at £20.6m over the period, declining by 24.6% on the same time last year.
Revenue from financial sales was 5.9% lower, at £61.8m. Overall, group revenue grew by 0.5% to £168.7m.
Clothing and footwear sales (+21%) have started to recover after a year in which the categories were less in demand, but sales of homewares and gifts are lower as pandemic-related demand for garden furniture and personal grooming products subsides.
Looking ahead, the retail group now expects product revenue to grow by between 3% and 7% this year, while group revenues grow by between 1% and 4%.
N Brown Group chief executive Steve Johnson says: “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.”
