The strongest month-on-month seasonally adjusted growth for November was felt in the department store, clothing and softgoods, and other retailing sectors such as jewellery, according to the Forsyth Barr's monthly retail update.Yesterday, figures from Sta
The strongest month-on-month seasonally adjusted growth for November was felt in the department store, clothing and softgoods, and other retailing sectors such as jewellery, according to the Forsyth Barr’s monthly retail update.
Yesterday, figures from Statistics New Zealand showed total retail sales grew 0.8% ($46 million) in November. Core retail, retail figures with the four automotive-related groups stripped out, also grew by 0.8% ($34 million).
Pumpkin Patch’s performance over the 2009 financial year was better than expected in Australia and slightly better in New Zealand despite writedowns in the US and UK.
Second half trends were encouraging but margins were down. The company closed 15 US stores, which it hoped would eliminate US losses at store level. Pumpkin Patch’s shares went up 50% since the US store closure was announced.
The Warehouse (also NBR has already reported) has disappointing sales for the nine weeks to January 3, although the Stationery side of the business was up on last year. The Warehouse announced it plans further expansion over the next few years, including four – five stores and five – seven smaller format stores.
Michael Hill’s first half of 2010’s trading update was more positive than Forsyth Barr expected and analysts have forecast a “very strong" first half 2010 pre-tax profit of around $26 million (up $18 million on last year’s profits.)
Core electronic card transactions (ECT) for December (ex-vehicle related) was up 0.4% month-on-month, following a 0.3% increase in November, which suggests December should see another small increase in core retail sales.
But ECT figures continue to show no significant improvement in the flatter growth trend over the last two years.
