The retailer will launch its Simply Be catalogue in Germany and open its websites to five European markets next month.
Chief executive Alan White said: “There are a number of mail order companies doing great business from international online. We think we can get 10 per cent of sales from overseas in the next few years.”
N Brown emerged as one of the Christmas winners after posting a like-for-like sales rise of 8 per cent in the 19 weeks to January 10.
Gross margins for the period fell 1.5 per cent due to an increase in the charge for bad debt. The retailer said 0.7 per cent of the total resulted from a higher proportion of younger customers. White added that although he will not try to reduce the proportion of custom that comes from that demographic, N Brown will cut back on customer recruitment, which adds bad debt risk.
Credit Suisse analyst Assad Malic was not unduly concerned by the level of bad debt. He said: “We believe bad debt levels continue to remain under control while the acceleration in internet growth is likely to drive further operational cost savings.”
Numis analyst Nick Coulter highlighted lower rates being offered by third-party debt collection agencies as one of the reasons for the margin hit.
He said: “With a less plentiful supply of credit the number of agencies has declined, and at a time when a much larger number of parties wish to employ their services.
“In response N Brown has sought to mitigate the impact by bringing the collection in-house, or by employing commission-based agents.”
Unlike some of its home shopping rivals such as Shop Direct Group and Freemans Grattan (formerly Otto UK), N Brown does not intend to cut back its catalogue offer.
White said: “We will experiment this year with less pages and promote extended ranges online but at this moment in time catalogue is an integral part of our online experience."
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