Fashion retail group River Island recorded a decline in full-year profit as a near-8% sales rise was offset by substantial investments in the business.
The UK company said trading in the year to 26 December 2009 had been “resilient” considering the economic environment, but added that its outlook continued to be cautious.
“We continued to invest in the business, including a new distribution centre, a major refurbishment of our head office and design floor, and a new online platform, which we launched recently,” said River Island CEO Ben Lewis.
“We grew the store network in the UK and internationally, including opening for the first time in Russia.”
