Retailers share their trading outlook.
The economy shrank in the September quarter to post its worst performance since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. However, Appliance Retailer spoke to a number of retailers who have said trading has been good and they expect a strong Christmas.
Betta Home Living CEO Graeme Cunningham said, business was slightly up in that quarter, although business did slow a little compared to what they had been doing.
“The current quarter has picked up quite a bit and Christmas is looking to be strong,” he said.
2nds World managing director, Peter Hammerman said Christmas trading so far has been excellent –well above last year by over 8%.
“We promoted quite heavily which included a Christmas catalogue in November and our air conditioning sales have almost caught up to last year due to the recent hot weather after a slow start,” he said.
“In general we haven’t noticed any downturn in sales. However, margins are tight with increased competition and the closure of the Masters and subsequent discounting of their stock. Despite this, we are very positive about the next trading period heading into 2017,” he added.
Over at Leading Appliances, national group manager, Nick Fry has been “extremely happy” with retail performance and sales over the last few months.
“We are looking forward to this continuing through the Christmas and New Year period,” he said.
However, Peter Bolte from Taree Leading Appliances said the Masters fire sale contributed to a downturn through third quarter and October.
“It is clear from competitor activity and supplier promotion that the market depression was far more reaching than our locale. It was interesting and alarming to watch the wild fluctuations in price and offers through our major competitors, with deals changing three to four times a week on some products as these turnover driven models struggled to capture market share,” he said.
“November and the early signs for December have heralded much more positive sales results, and of course warmer weather has increased demand for higher ticket items like refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners,” he added.