19 April 2017

Bonmarché Holdings plc

("Bonmarché" or the "Company" or the "Group")

Trading Update

53 week period ended 1 April 2017

Bonmarché, one of the UK`s largest women`s value retailers, presents its trading statement for the 14 and 53 week periods ended Saturday 1 April 2017.

Sales for the 14 weeks ended 1 April 2017 increased by 2.7% against the corresponding period in FY16. Store LFL sales decreased by 0.5% and online sales increased by 15.2%.

Sales for the 53 weeks ended 1 April 2017 decreased by 0.5%; store LFL sales decreased by 4.3% and online sales grew by 2.2%. The table below summarises the figures:

As noted previously, FY17 includes a 53^rd week to align our reporting year-end more closely with our accounting reference date of 31 March. To aid comparisons with FY16's 52 week reporting period, we also include below the corresponding FY17 figures for the 13 and 52 week periods ended Saturday 25 March 2017:

At 1 April 2017, Bonmarché traded from 327 stores/concessions (26 March 2016: 312) and online.

FY17 expectations:

The Board expects that the pre-exceptional PBT for the 53 week period ended 1 April 2017 will be slightly above the mid-point of the £5.0m to £7.0m range previously quoted on 21 September 2016. The Group`s financial position remains sound.

The results for the 53 week period ended 1 April 2017 will be published on Monday 19 June 2017.

Helen Connolly, Chief Executive Officer of Bonmarche said:

"As anticipated, trading conditions post-Christmas continued to be challenging, but this was accounted for when we issued the revised profit guidance last September, and therefore the final result for the year is in line with our expectations. Store like-for like sales were negative in January but stronger during February and March, and we also saw the resumption of growth in online sales following improvements made to our online offering.

Whilst we expect the apparel market to remain challenging during the coming financial year, we are actively taking measures to improve our proposition to customers. We remain confident that Bonmarché remains unique in its ability to serve the needs of its target market and that the successful implementation of our plan will allow us to deliver growth in FY18, despite the challenging market."

For further information regarding Bonmarché, please call: 

Notes to Editors:

Bonmarché is one of the UK's largest women's value retailers, focused on selling stylish, affordable, quality clothing and accessories in a wide range of sizes, via its own store portfolio and online. Established in 1982, Bonmarché has more than 30 years of experience in this market segment, operating across the UK.

Footnote

*     As noted in our interim report on 21 November, during the year, we ceased selling via the Ideal World TV shopping channel and from stores hosted on ebay and Amazon. Sales from these channels had previously been included within the classification of "online" sales. To show more clearly the true sales from Bonmarché's own online store, the sales from these discontinued channels have been reclassified within "New stores, closures & other" in the tables shown above, and online sales now purely represent sales transacted through Bonmarché's website. For reference, the equivalent figures on previously stated and new bases will be included within our forthcoming preliminary results statement and Annual Report.