Oh FCUK it !! Profane brand lose $6.7 million

French Connection, the apparel retail brand that struck gold when it changed its brand to closely reflect an old Anglo-Saxon profanity hit losses of £3.6 million for the six months as customers deserted the now tired and jaded brand.

The clothing manufacturer has sold over a million T-shirts emblazoned with various adaptations of the word FCUK since the brand was introduced, though in recent years the notoriety has faded and the brand has become a liability not an asset.

Stephen Marks, the chairman and 42 per cent shareholder, admitted that his recovery plan in the UK and Europe was moving more slowly than he had hoped and that the problems he faced last year had spilled over into the current financial year. A drop of 10 percent sales in the USA compounded this.

Recently reworking the brand has allowed for an upturn in sales with predictions of a second half increase of 3 percent.

Margins are likely to move up as the number of ‘out of season’ sales of excess stock have decreased stress on the business.

The stock price was up just over 2 percent to 211 on the news.