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AIM: ADIL                                                                                                             10 December 2009

Adili plc

("Adili" or "the Company")

Trading Update

The board of Adili plc, the online retailer of ethical fashion, announces that trading has improved significantly over the last few weeks but to date is below management's expectations at the time of the last fundraising in August this year.

The company has suffered from lower than anticipated trading on their website mainly due to issues arising from the trading name change to Ascension in the earlier part of the Autumn Winter season and also as a result of the later than planned opening of the retail stores following the protracted fundraising activity earlier in the year, delaying our ability to commit to leases at that time.  

The board has been acutely focussed on margin management and this season has seen significantly less discounting than in previous years, including the avoidance of a mid-season Sale.  Consequently, cash generation and margin growth are the main priorities for management rather than 'headline' sales growth.

The board is now seeing an acceleration in sales growth of both the website and the stores due to seasonality and having resolved the issues associated with the rebranding referred to above.  The rebranding has been received very well by customers, with 75% of existing customers preferring the name Ascension.

The overall sell through rate on fashion product lines are far better than ever experienced previously in the company's history.  The mix of own label product has also significantly increased year on year and continues to be core to our strategy. The board is particularly pleased with both customer and press reaction to this season's collection.

The retail stores since opening have traded above target to date and the board see significant opportunity to drive the London store to higher levels of performance and consequently materially affect the trading performance of the business in the second half.  This will also help us drive increased volumes of own label with consequent margin benefit. The Dorchester store plays a key role in clearing terminal stock, reducing the need for the significant stock write offs seen in previous seasons.

    

The board anticipates a need for a modest amount of further working capital funding in February / March 2010. The board is exploring various options for financing this additional requirement without recourse to shareholders, but cannot rule this option out at this stage.

The Company will issue a further update in early January 2010

Enquiries:

Adili plc	Adam Smith, Chief Executive Officer Nick Samuel, Chairman	T: 01258 837 437
Seymour Pierce	Nicola Marrin Catherine Leftley	T: 020 7107 8000

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