Noni B set for a challenging year

NATIONAL: Australian fashion group Noni B is moving cautiously into the 2008 fiscal year, admitting the past 12 months have been "very challenging" for womenswear retailers in Australia.

While the company recorded a sixth successive increase in full year profit to $8.2 million, a slight increase on the previous year, chairman Robert Critchley said he was cautious about prospects for the first half of fiscal 2008. He said it had been a difficult first four months, with flat sales indicating the company needed to tread carefully into the second half of the year.

"[We] believe that any slowness in the first half will be offset in the second half with many new initiatives that we are introducing that should have a significant positive impact on our results going forward."

This included the strengthening of business processes across marketing, training and communications. Critchley said he was particularly confident in the success of La Voca, the group's recently launched womenswear chain.

"We are confident in the future growth potential of La Voca, and having now reached the critical level of 19 stores and developed a strong depth of stock, we are planning a major launch in 2008."