Sales at The Warehouse remain flat, with less spending on entertainment and unseasonably warm weather blamed for the current stretch of stagnated sales.The country's biggest retailer has recorded flat sales for some time and the quarter ending May 2 was n
Sales at The Warehouse remain flat, with less spending on entertainment and unseasonably warm weather blamed for the current stretch of stagnated sales.
The country’s biggest retailer has recorded flat sales for some time and the quarter ending May 2 was no exception, down 1.9% to $376 million.
That follows a 2.8% drop in last year’s third quarter.
Sales for the year to date have fallen by 0.9% to $1.29 billion, but the company is still expecting full year net profit to be similar to last year’s result.
The story remains the same for the retailer, with a slight increase in sales at Warehouse Stationery wiped out by the performance of the big red sheds.
Warehouse Stationery’s third quarter sales were up 2.2% to $52.2 million, with a 6.3% lift in year to date sales to $148.4 million and a 11.2% rise in same store sales.
However, sales for the quarter at the main retail arm of the business were down 2.6% to $323.8 million, with year to date sales of $1.14 billion, down 1.8%.
Adjusted same store sales were down 3.3%.
Chief executive Ian Morrice said the sales shortfall was due to “a continued contraction” in the music and DVD market, combined with a slow start to winter that hit key categories such as winter apparel and heating.
But he said customers were responding well to growth initiatives in categories such as footwear, sporting goods and jewellery, and that there had been “solid” trading over the Easter period.
Mr Morrice said the fact that the stationery arm of the business has kept its sales rising further reinforced the company’s view that the turnaround was sustainable.
The retailer recently successfully completed a $100 million bond offer. Its share price (NZX:WHS) opened today at $3.57, down 15.2% since the start of the year..
