As a result of the fall in store sales, earnings tumbled by 29pc to £43.4m. The company did edge back into the black, posting £2.7m in pre-tax profits, compared to a £73.7m loss in the first quarter, when it incurred costs related to its £780m takeover by South Africa’s Brait Group.
Brait is the listed investment vehicle of South Africa’s fourth-richest man, Christo Wiese, which also snapped up an 80pc stake in gym chain Virgin Active for £682m last year.
New Look, which aims to sell clothes for half the price of rival Topshop, is pushing into China and has 94 shops in the region after opening a further nine in this quarter.
New Look is also targeting the fast-growing menswear sector by opening standalone stores and revamping its offer.
Meanwhile online fashion retailer Boohoo reported that sales in the first five months of the year had beat expectations.
Source : www.telegraph.co.uk/
