All N Brown articles
The N Brown Group is a clothing retail group targeting underserved customer demographics – in particular larger-sized or older men and women. Key brands include Simply Be for plus-size women, Jacamo for the male equivalent, JD Williams for 45 to 60-year-old women and Ambrose Wilson for women aged 60 and over. It also operates several other brands including underwear retailer Figleaves for larger-busted women. The oldest brand, JD Williams, was founded in 1859, and was bought and renamed by the N Brown Group in 1986.
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AnalysisRetail 2025: How Molton Brown, Mamas & Papas and N Brown are taking ESG seriously
Retailers are taking heed of environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters, and in many cases are also realising the commercial benefits that come with focusing on these issues as opposed to solely chasing profit at all costs.
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NewsLIVE 2025: Currys boss Alex Baldock and more added to speaker line-up
LIVE 2025: Retail Week x The Grocer, our one-day event showcasing the latest thinking in technology, digital and customer innovation across retail and grocery, will take place on February 11, 2025, at the Business Design Centre, London.
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Opinion‘It will take more than delisting and taking the business private to transform N Brown’
N Brown is the latest retailer to go private. Whether it could have pursued a successful strategy as a public company may be a moot point, but changing the ownership structure alone won’t be enough to save it, says George MacDonald
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Retail Navigator AnalysisN Brown (Strategy)
N Brown is set to be bought, and taken private, by Joshua Alliance, a member of the family that built N Brown. Alliance made a recommended offer for the group at 40p per share in cash valuing N Brown at around £191m via the acquisition vehicle Falcon 24 Topco Limited.
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NewsFrasers Group has backed a takeover of N Brown as it continues chasing Mulberry
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has backed the £191m takeover proposal for fashion giant N Brown and told shareholders it is continuing its bid to acquire luxury brand Mulberry.
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NewsN Brown is to be bought by an Alliance family member
Joshua Alliance, a member of the family who built N Brown, has made a recommended offer for the home shopping group.
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Retail Navigator AnalysisN Brown (Financials)
Group sales fell 11.3% to £600.9m for the 52 weeks to 2 March 2024 (FY2023) in a performance that N Brown Group described as “above market expectations”, despite a challenging macroeconomic environment. Although the retailer had remained profitable for four consecutive years, it fell into the red in FY2022 before moving back into the black in FY2023 with statutory pre-tax profits of £5.3m, from a loss of £71.1m the previous year, with a pre-tax profit margin of 0.9%. The improvement was driven by lower adjusting items as well as the retailer’s focus on managing its cost base and driving profitable sales.
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NewsN Brown has announced a profit improvement as it focuses on sales
Home shopping group N Brown has reported a small profit in its first half on the back of strategic progress.
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InterviewQ&A: JD Wiliams’ creative controller wants to challenge stereotypes in the ‘mid-life’ fashion market
N Brown group brand and creative controller Sam Walker speaks to Retail Week about JD Williams’ sharpened focus on mid-life customers.
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InterviewQ&A: N Brown’s supply chain boss on why AI is the future of fulfilment
N Brown’s Clare Empson sat down with Retail Week to discuss the importance of data and transparency as well as how digital transformation and AI are likely to transform supply chains of the future
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NewsN Brown profits up despite dip in sales
Fashion group N Brown, which owns brands including Simply Be, Jacamo and JD Williams, has reported a dip in sales for the full year despite a boost to profits amid ongoing “challenging market conditions”.
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NewsN Brown chair Ron McMillan departs
Fashion retailer N Brown, which owns brands including Simply Be, Jacamo and JD Williams, has announced the departure of chair Ron McMillan.
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NewsN Brown ‘confident’ in strategy despite dip in sales
Fashion group N Brown, which owns Simply Be, Jacamo and JD Williams, has said it is “confident” in its strategic direction for the year ahead, despite posting a dip in sales in its third quarter.
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DataFashion retail leaders predict what future consumers will want to buy
Leaders and product bosses from New Look, The Very Group, Matalan, Bam, N Brown, Secret Sales, Fat Face and Seasalt reveal the products and trends they expect to be big news over the next three years
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NewsSimply Be hires new general manager
Fashion retailer Simply Be has named Heidi Kenyon-Smith as its new general manager from January 2, 2024.
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NewsN Brown sales hit by unseasonable weather
N Brown has seen revenues drop after challenging market conditions and unseasonable weather hampered sales.
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NewsN Brown bolsters fashion stable with new third-party brands
Fashion group N Brown has added Fat Face, Ted Baker, Tala and Gym King to its autumn/winter range across its three strategic brands to bolster its “already wide-ranging product offering” this season.
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NewsSainsbury’s adds Simply Be to brand portfolio
Simply Be, which is owned by fashion retailer N Brown, has announced a new partnership with Sainsbury’s that will see a range of its products available both in store and online.
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DataFashion Forward: The top 30 fashion retailers by 2026
Fashion retail has experienced a turbulent time, but retailers investing in elevation, partnerships, acquisitions and focused transformation are set to win. Our Retail Week analysts reveal which retailers will lead the sector in 2026.
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NewsFrasers Group ups stakes in N Brown and Currys
Frasers Group has increased its stakes in fashion retailer N Brown and electricals retailer Currys in a continued shopping spree for Mike Ashley’s retail empire.