Debenhams has signalled new-found confidence in its menswear by introducing it to Desire stores.

The retailer has added the category to Desire – which previously only sold womenswear, childrenswear and beauty lines – in Welwyn Garden City and Llanelli ahead of a full roll-out.

After posting its full-year results on Tuesday, Debenhams blamed a poor performance in menswear for a like-for-like sales slump of 5 per cent in the year to September 1. In the seven weeks following, like-for-likes rose 2.1 per cent.

Debenhams chief executive Rob Templeman told Retail Week: “We always said we would continue to experiment with Desire. Women are a big buyer of menswear, so it makes sense. We will see it through a season, but we are pretty convinced that we will roll it out.”

Margins at Desire – which sells 95 per cent in-house ranges – are substantially higher than the full-line department stores, by between 500 and 600 basis points.

Pali International analyst Nick Bubb said that introducing menswear was a good idea. “Now pricing is tighter and quality is going up. By implication, menswear is driving the recovery and at M&S’s expense,” he said.

Debenhams’ annual operating profits fell 19 per cent to£194.1 million, but rose 13 per cent at the pre-tax level.

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