High street fashion retailer New Look eyes £2bn flotation
High street fashion retailer New Look has reportedly set the wheels in motion for a potential stock market flotation.
The company has hired Wall Street investment bank JP Morgan to look at options for a stock market listing, which could value it at £2bn, according to Sky News.
New Look, which has more than 800 stores spanning 21 countries reported a 1 per cent dip in its UK like-for-like sales in its third quarter results, which it attributed to weather fluctuations.
However, e-commerce sales were up 33.1 per cent, and it saw strong Christmas trading with like-for-like sales up 4.1 per cent in the seven weeks to 3 January 2015.
Total revenues in the third quarter of 2014 were £1,082m, which climbed to £1,113m through January.
The retailer’s chief executive Anders Krisiansen, described its performance as “robust” in the face of a challenging retail environment.
“Although October and November were affected by unseasonably warm weather, we grew market share in the period and our Christmas trading figures are testament to the quality of our product and the continued investment made in our multichannel offer, both in-store and online.
“It was a record online sales performance over the Christmas period with all channels well prepared for peaks in demand around Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Boxing Day. Mobile and tablet ordering overtook desktop for the first time on Boxing Day, whilst our high street presence came into its own as we handled a surge in demand for our Click & Collect and Order in Store offerings,” he said.
The retailer has outlined intentions to grow its number of stores in China, planning to launch two more by the end of the year, which will take its total in that country to 20.
It is also planning further store openings in France, Germany and Poland.