French Connection losses widen as Next mastermind Christos Angelides joins the board, though the share price slides
High street fashion chain French Connection has reported its sales have continued to slide in the last year, down eight per cent at £164.2m.
The company posted a loss of £4.7m, a substantial increase on the £0.8m loss in 2015.
In an attempt to shore up its board FCUK has brought on former Next director Christos Angelides as an independent non-executive director.
Angelides was credited with much of Next's success over the past few decades, though is fresh from a shorter than expected stint as president of Abercrombie & Fitch in the US, which lasted just over a year.
A&F did not give a reason for Angelides departure at the time.
Stephen Marks, chairman and chief executive, said: "[Angelides] brings substantial experience in fashion retailing in both the UK and USA and the Board will benefit from his knowledge and insight."
The company sought to reassure investors that performance in the second half of the year had improved though shares have fallen by almost four per cent by the beginning of afternoon trading.
Shares in the company are down by around 20 per cent from a year ago.
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Marks, Chairman and Chief Executive said:
Overall the performance for the year has been disappointing due to the very poor first half but the improvement we have seen during the second half and into the new financial year shows that we are definitely moving in the right direction. The reaction to this year's collections has been strong so far showing that we are on track. We are early in the year and have a considerable amount of work to do to take the Group back to profitability although I believe that the actions we have taken to date will go a long way to taking us there.
Also joining the company is Lee Williams, who is leaving his post as finance director at online clothing retailer Asos.
Williams will take up the same position at French Connection on 4 April.