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New designers lift Debenhams
Simon English16.09.08
Debenhams showed signs of tentative recovery today, with sales in the year to the end of August holding up fairly well.
In one of the toughest operating environments faced by retailers for decades, the department stores group saw like-for-like sales down 0.9%.
Debenhams has been moving away from its old-fashioned image by selling clothes from new designers such as Ted Baker and Pearce Fionda.
Chief executive Rob Templeman claims this strategy is paying dividends and that a store refurbishment programme is also helping.
“Trading in August showed a marked improvement over July but the UK retail sector continues to be adversely affected by wider economic concerns,” said Templeman.
He says the store is grabbing market share from rivals.
Debenhams reports profit numbers for the year on
21 October. It said today they should be in line with City expectations — some relief for beleagured shareholders.
The shares have tumbled from a year high of 115p to 42¾p today.
