Long Tall Sally in recovery bid after two-year losses

Tall women's clothing retailer Long Tall Sally is hoping to return to profit next year after two loss-making years at the business. The retailer was hit by a number of problems at the chain, including slow-moving stock and costs incurred by significant restructuring.

However, Long Tall Sally founder Judy Rich said the business is now well on the road to recovery. Three new senior appointments earlier this year have included a new product director, Louise Koser, whose focus has been on revamping the product mix. The mail order and marketing strategy has also been reviewed to target and predict customers' spending more effectively.

'The stores are up 3 per cent like-for-like on last year. We believe we've seen the turnaround and hope to return to profit this year,' said Rich.

For the year ending July 2002, the company is expected to post a loss of around£700,000, on turnover of around£11 million.