Fashion chain French Connection has bucked the gloomy trend on the high street with a 30% jump in profits for the last year. The retailer also said it was expecting another strong performance in coming months.
French Connection, which also owns the Nicole Fahri brand, said it was now looking for new shops in major European cities as well as in the US.
"We are producing fantastic products and combined with our amusing marketing we are optimistic for another very good year," said the finance director Roy Naismith.
Out of step
The retailer has seen its fortunes soar since introducing a controversial marketing campaign.
But retail analyst Richard Ratner at Seymour Pierce said the group had "got it right".
"This is a very good performance - young fashion has been a very strong sector," added Mr Ratner.
French Connection reported profits of �30.2m for the 12 months to the end of January, up 30% on last year.
The last few weeks have also been promising with same-store sales up by 14%.
The strong performance is in stark contrast to recent data suggesting a slowdown in consumer spending.
Recent figures from the British Retail Consortium have indicated dwindling sales since the start of the year and have been accompanied by suggestions that the downward trend would continue.
One-Minute World News 
News services
Email this to a friend 
Printable version 
