Retailer stretches back into profit

Retailer stretches back into profit

BROWN & JACKSON, the cut-price retail group that owns Poundstretcher and What Everyone Wants, has continued its recovery with a bounce back into profit.

The company, controlled by South Africa's Pepkor group, produced profits of pounds 7.5m in the year to June against a pounds 2.7m loss the previous year. What Everyone Wants and Your More store - acquired by Brown & Jackson last year - made a pre-exceptional operating profit of pounds 3m, helped by lower costs and better margins.

Christo Wiese, chairman, said: "By any standard this is a remarkable recovery. The results show a dramatic turnaround in the position of the group."

Brown & Jackson shares, languishing at 16p a year ago, closed down 1p at 74p. They stood at 351.5p in 1993.

Buoyed by its success the group is planning to accelerate its expansion programme with 14 more Poundstretchers and five more What Everyone Wants.

Like-for-like sales dipped 1.6 per cent partly due to a product mix change away from lower margin ranges. Sales rose from pounds 187m to pounds 277m. There is no dividend as the company wants to go on investing in the business.