Retailer seeks support from landlords on both sides of the Tasman.
NZX and ASX-listed clothing retailer Hallenstein Glasson has released a trading update that shows it is still suffering the ill-effects of Covid disruption.
Group sales for the six-months ending February 1 were $170.6 million, a decrease of 6.2% from $182m during the same corresponding period.
Group unaudited profit after tax is projected to be in the range of $11.1m and $12.1m, a substantial drop from the $19.8m achieved the prior year.
The company said it lost 5432 trading days during the financial half due to Covid lockdowns with stores in both New Zealand and Australia closing temporarily due to the pandemic.
Some 34 Australian stores were closed for at least a week at the start of the financial year. All New Zealand Hallenstein Brothers and Glassons stores were closed from mid-August to early September, with Auckland retail being closed until early November. Stores in Hamilton and Whangarei were further affected after the initial lockdown.
Online sales continued to play a strong part in sales for the company, accounting for a third of group sales. During the first eight weeks of the new financial year, sales declined 18.90% from the previous year and the company attributes this to the store closures.
The company also said it had entered rent relief negotiations with landlords, for those stores unable to open due to restrictions.
Despite this, the company asserts the balance sheet remains strong and stock levels are controlled.
A full announcement with the auditedsix-month financial statements will be released to the market on March 25, 2022.
