We are all aware of the situation on the high street at the moment. With once-popular brands entering administration and online shopping becoming the retail method of choice, towns and cities across the UK are suffering from an increasing number of empty commercial properties.
The Portas Review led to a government backed initiative to help the high street
So it is something of a surprise that a highly successful online retailer has revealed plans to expand its small network of physical stores, and that the first place it will be looking to set up shop is on the high street.
N Brown, which owns brands such as Figleaves.com, Jacamo and Simply Be, has bucked the trend of struggling retailers in the past year by watching its revenues climb by an impressive 8.5 per cent.
Although the company was initially set up on a mail order basis, since expanding into the online marketplace sales in this medium have rocketed. The online business now earns 54 per cent of overall revenue, with the past 19 weeks alone seeing a 17 per cent boost in online trade.
As a result of the rising online interest, and consequent drop in the catalogue division, N Brown is now seeking new ways to grab the attention of consumers and expand still further.
Much of the customer base consists of older people who struggle to find clothing large enough to fit them in standard high street stores – therefore, chief executive Alan White believes that giving customers the chance to try on outfits before they commit to purchasing them is the ideal solution to filling the void left by cutting back on the catalogue business.
As he says, “We are an online company looking to open stores.”
N Brown already occupies 48 commercial properties nationwide, seven of which opened for business within the last 12 months under the “Simply Be” brand. However, the plan is for Simply Be to open a further six stores in 2013 with the aim of eventually operating 25 stores under the brand.
Plus size men’s brand, Jacomo, will also be catered for in several of the new store openings, especially as sales in this range greatly helped to achieve the 60 per cent growth in sales which occurred in 2012.
While many industry experts will no doubt question the advisability of looking to the high street in a bid to boost business, the time may have come for successful retailers to attempt to save town centres.
The Portas Review has led to a government backed initiative to help high street retailers and reduce the number of vacant commercial properties. Yet already this year we have seen more high profile retailers entering administration so any good news for the high street must be welcomed.
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