Austin Reed chief executive steps down

Roger Jennings, chief executive of Austin Reed Group PLC is to step down and leave the company immediately as it reported a sharp 11.3% fall in like-for-like sales over the 22 weeks through to January 10.

The clothing retailer said that full year underlying pre-tax profit is still likely to be in line with forecasts given in November.

This is attributed mainly to cost savings from reorganisation measures, offsetting a fall in gross margins in the company's British retail operations for the second half of the year.

The group said total sales in the 22 weeks to January 10 were down 5.2% from a year earlier.

Despite the fall, the company said the figures show a "marginal improvement" from the sales performance for the first 15 weeks of the period that was detailed in a trading statement on November 27.

In October, Austin Reed reported a decline in turnover in its first half, ended August 9, which it blamed on disruption during the renovation of its flagship store in London's Regent Street.

A slow build up to the key Christmas trading period after a November hike in interest rates had panicked many retailers, but the some of the gloom was lifted from the sector by strong sales at Britain's third-biggest clothing retailer Next.

In a statement, the company said: "Roger Jennings has decided to step down as chief executive of the group and will be leaving the company to pursue other interests. He has resigned as a director of the company with immediate effect."

Austin Reed's group executive director David Lowbridge has been appointed acting CEO while the company looks for a successor.

Lowbridge was managing director of Country Casuals when it was acquired by Austin Reed in 1998.