Woolworths reports sales dip |
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Tue, 26 Jul 2005 07:05
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LONDON: Retailers are facing a tough time and this fact was brought home by toy and sweets chain Woolworths, which has reported that like-for-like sales have registered a 4.4 percent fall over the last 24 weeks up to July 16.
The sales did not show any movement and have remained unchanged ever since the group released an 18-week update. Confirming this downward trend, Trevor Bish-Jones, the company's chief executive issued a statement saying, "The retail environment remains challenging and, against this background, we continue to be disciplined about controlling costs and stock." Woolworths is not the only retailer to face this sales gloom. Several other retailers have also unveiled a negative balance.
The sales figure for Woolworths remained marginally below that at around the same time last year, but Bish-Jones remained optimistic, "I still think we can improve our margins. Our internal target is an improvement of 40 basis points," he said. His optimism stems from the fact that post-Live 8 music sales have soared and the release of the Harry Potter book would provide the much-needed shot in the arm to the group. This was reflected by the fact that third party sales at the retailer grew by 16.1 percent. Bish-Jones was also categorical in saying that the revaluation of the Chinese Yuan would not have any impact on the group's margins since it had already purchased stocks and was focusing on the all-important Christmas period.
Woolworths had stated last month that it would focus on the homeware, toys and clothing segments, which are generally immune to any consumer curbs, to arrest the downturn. Woolworths also said that it was undertaking a massive refurbishment programme in 50 of its 800 stores this year. As of now 20 stores had already been converted to this new format and were doing brisk business, the group said.
Woolworths interim results for the first half of the year up to 30 July are due to be announced on September 21.
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