MELBOURNE: Portmans has been revealed as the weakest link in the Just Group portfolio, recording “very disappointing” sales results during the first half of 2009/10.
The performance of the young womenswear brand was unveiled in Premier Investments' financial results for the 27 weeks to January 30, 2010. Among the seven brands that constitute the Just Group, Portmans' sales declined the most, with a drop of 16.3 per cent to $54 million. Like-for-like sales for the young women's label were down 18.5 per cent.
On the other end of the scale, like-for-like sales for pyjama brand Peter Alexander increased by 17.6 per cent during the same period. Dotti and Just Jeans were also strong performing brands, with sales growth of 35.6 per cent and 9.7 per cent respectively.
Sales for the Just Group as whole were up 9.3 per cent to $473 million for the first half of 2009/10. Premier Investments net profit after tax for the period was $42.4 million, a drop from $49.1 million in the first half of 2008/09.
Premier Investments' chairman Soloman Lew said the company's wide consumer base is expected to assist in driving its performance in the months ahead.
“Building on the momentum produced by the leadership team at Just Group, Premier will be focusing on achieving consistent out-performance across all Just Group brands, with particular attention to lifting Portmans' performance to match the returns from other brands in the portfolio,” Lew said.
Premier Investments acquired Just Group in 2008. It owns and manages the Group's seven brands, namely Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Dotti, Portmans, Jacqui E, Peter Alexander and Smiggle.