British High Street Brand FCUK Ended Six Years Of Losses Expected To Sell In The First Half Of The Year.

After six years of continuous loss, French Connection Group PLC (FCCN.L) has lost its profits, but sales are not so optimistic.

The share price of the British fashion retailer fell 2.83% after a record increase of 3.77% on Tuesday afternoon.

Like other British retailers, French Connection Group PLC blamed the sluggish sales on complaining about the tough domestic business environment.

In the 2019 fiscal year ending January 31st, the same store sales in the UK and Europe fell by 6.8% year-on-year, while the previous year saw a 0.8% weak growth, while Internet sales also recorded a 3.7% decline, resulting in a decrease of 10.6% to 58 million 400 thousand pounds in retail revenue.

Group Chairman and chief executive officer Stephen Marks said that in the past year, they closed 5 stores and 5 counters, but thanks to the willingness of some of the store owners to flexibly handle tenancies, four previously planned stores have been retained.

This year, the group plans to further close 12 stores, depending on the negotiation of the various tenancies.

Over the past few years, French Connection Group PLC has reduced more than half of its retail space.

As of January 31st, the group had 96 separate stores or counters, and 195 franchised stores and authorized stores, a net decrease of 8 and 17 respectively over the same period last year.

Wholesale channel performance is quite different.

Wholesale revenue increased by 10.3% throughout the year. The three major markets in the UK, Europe and North America showed positive performance. The growth in the second half of the fiscal year was even faster. The luxury stores in the Bloomingdale 's and Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE:JWN) loco tetron show a prominent performance. The local core department store promoted the contribution of the North American market to the overall sales from 25.8% in fiscal 2018 to 29.3%.

Wholesale income amounted to 76 million 900 thousand pounds, accounting for 56.8% of the total revenue of the group (135 million 300 thousand in the previous year).

French Connection Group PLC achieved a basic operating profit of 100 thousand pounds in fiscal year 2019, which recorded a loss of 2 million 100 thousand pounds in the previous year, and a total loss of 22 million 900 thousand pounds in the past six years.

The Stephen Marks, which founded the French Connection brand in 1972, has been under pressure from the radical investors, as a result of a continuous loss and the stock price pressure.

In October 2018, the group announced its consideration of selling.

At present, Stephen Marks maintains its largest shareholder status by 42% of its shareholding ratio. Mike Mike, a British retail giant who is aggressively expanding its retail layout, also owns 27% of its retail Sports DirectInternational PLC (SPD.L) through its sporting goods retailer, Marks.

Stephen Marks revealed in today's earnings report that the group is continuing negotiations with a number of buyers and expects to complete the strategic assessment in the first half of this year and announce the latest decision when appropriate.

French Connection Group PLC sold 75% of the fashion brand Toast to the Danish clothing giant Bestseller United A/S last year. The group made a net profit of 9 million 700 thousand pounds from the paction, and the net cash in January 31st increased by 70% to 16 million 200 thousand pounds as of January 31st.

French Connection Group PLC (FCCN.L) reported 41.4 pence on Tuesday, down 2.36% from a full day, and now has a market value of about 42 million pounds.