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When Afterpay listed in May 2016 the executive chairman Anthony Eisen and CEO Nick Molnar had shares worth $121.5 million. They are now worth more than $700 million. 

Chanticleer understands the US customer base of Afterpay is similar to the Australian and New Zealand user base, which is heavily weighted towards Millennials. About 70 per cent of the 2.5 million Australians who use Afterpay are below the age of 34. The average age of a customer using Afterpay in the US is 33, which fits the Millennial definition of being born between 1981 and 1996.

In Australia the average age of an Afterpay user has increased because the younger generation has educated others about the product, according to sources close to the company.

"In the years to come, the sentiments of these generations will drive not only their decisions as employees but also as investors, with the world undergoing the largest transfer of wealth in history: $US24 trillion from Baby Boomers to Millennials. As wealth shifts and investing preferences change, environmental, social, and governance issues will be increasingly material to corporate valuations."

Chanticleer believes there are at least two ways for investors to play the Millennial investment game.

First, buy companies that rely on Millennials for their profits. This is risky because you would be excluding Baby Boomers, the richest cohort of consumers.

Afterpay has performed well since listing in May 2016 at $2.70 a share. The share price rise since then has lifted the value of shares owned by the executive chairman Anthony Eisen and CEO Nick Molnar from about $120 million to more than $700 million.

But other Millennial-focused companies have not done so well. Shares in Raiz Invest, which helps Millennials to round up their spare change and invest it in the sharemarket, have fallen 72 per cent since listing on the ASX six months ago. Nevertheless, the business is expanding, with $254 million in funds under management compared to $200 million when it listed.

The Raiz business model is sound judging from research commissioned late last year by Afterpay to ascertain the attitude of Millennials to managing money. It found they are turning away from credit cards, are savvy at managing money, are saving more than their parents, and using technology to do household budgeting.

AlphaBeta CEO Andrew Charlton, who did the research for Afterpay, said Millennials had long been misrepresented as a young, narcissistic generation that spent frivolously. But using data from surveys and a range of official sources, Charlton found a generation with a greater willingness to save, a reluctance to use revolving credit on credit cards, and delaying the purchase of a family home.

"While it is true that Millennials manage and spend their money differently from their parents, their priorities are driven largely by new financial burdens they face," the report said.

"While Baby Boomers lived through an era of free education and affordable housing, Millennials are not as lucky. In 1970, Baby Boomers could buy a house for around five times the average household income. Generation X faced house prices of six times income. For Millennials today, houses now cost eight times the average household income.

"Similarly, Baby Boomers enjoyed free university education. By contrast, university-educated members of Generation X entered the workforce with more than $10,000 of HECS debt. Millennials now face twice the HECS debt of their predecessors, at $19,000."

Millennials are not spendthrift according to the AlphaBeta research. The areas of spending for Millennials that have experienced the biggest increase have been public transport (up 24 per cent) and private health insurance (up 23 per cent). Their frugality and health consciousness is clear from the study's findings that they spend 16 per cent less on alcohol and 71 per cent less on cigarettes than previous generations.

It is noteworthy that Charlton's research found Millennials have a high level of distrust of banks. Also, they don't think banks have been helpful in managing their finances.

When you combine these findings with the predictions by BlackRock's Fink, it is fair to assume that disruptive and innovative fintechs that invest with social purpose will do well. 

A second Millennials investment strategy would be to buy companies run by Millennials. This is based on the idea that Millennial CEOs should be on the same wavelength as their peers and more likely to make money than out-of-touch Baby Boomers.

Chanticleer found 167 Millennial CEOs running public companies in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the US, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the United Kingdom and Canada, using the global data base of S&P Capital IQ. The data is limited because 2200 of the 2500 CEOs captured by the analysis did not reveal their age.

The S&P Capital IQ data on the age of CEOs shows at least half a dozen Millennials running marijuana related companies in the US and Canada.

The youngest CEO of an Australian listed company is 35-year-old Rohan Hockings, who runs Phylogica, a biotechnology company with a drug discovery platform to discover novel peptide therapeutics. The stock has slumped in the past 12 months.

The next youngest CEO of an Australian listed company is Jacky Chan, 36, who runs Amani Gold, a gold exploration company. But the stock has plunged over the past year.

At the other end of the age spectrum of CEOs is legendary investor Warren Buffett, who is aged 88. His advice to anyone looking to invest, no matter what their age, is to put the money in index funds.

Jewellery retailer Michael Hill posted an increase in total sales and same-store sales for the November and December period, buoyed by marketing and promotions in the lead-up to the holidays.

The retailer posted a 2.9 per cent increase in total sales and 1.3 per cent rise in same store sales for the combined November and December period.

The jewellery chain’s branded collection rose by 11 per cent to a 20 per cent share of total product sales, up from 18 per cent in FY18.

E-commerce sales soared 59 per cent to $8.1 million representing 2.6 per cent of total sales.

Quarterly group sales from continuing operations slipped 1.3 per cent, and saw a 2.9 per cent decrease on a same-store basis. For the half-year, sales fell 4.2 per cent to A$309.5 million and were 6 per cent lower at A$292.7 million on a same-store basis.

Recently appointed CEO Daniel Bracken said the company’s performance during the key November and December trading period was encouraging.

“A refined approach to our event and promotional activities resulted in a lift in sales during our two busiest months,” Bracken said.

“This was a good outcome in a challenging retail environment and demonstrated the capability and cohesion of the executive and retail management team.”

The retailer announced it is continuing with its planned closure of the Emma & Roe brand. Four Emma & Roe stores closed during the first quarter as planned and previously announced. Two Emma & Roe stores and the Emma & Roe website continue to trade while store closure negotiations progress with landlords.

Planing for January and February sales is an enormous strategic task that starts 12 months in advance, and Ms Hunter said this year Officeworks had put extra focus on costs and convenience for parents.

Back-to-school spending on a primary school child started at around $200 excluding textbooks, she said, and increased sharply if schools required students them to buy iPads or other tech products.“There’s a material difference for parents now that we need to be cognisant of and create payment options, but also be in stock early enough so they can stagger their purchasing," she said, with many parents now including expensive school supplies as Christmas gifts.

The smallest division of the Wesfarmers conglomerate, Officeworks accounted for about 4 per cent of the group's earnings last year, but that will increased to more than 6 per cent now it has spun-off the Coles supermarket chain.

Officeworks' expanded significance comes as the shine comes off one of the Westfarmers' retail stars, Kmart. 

The group revealed on Monday that Kmart's earnings were falling for the first time since its started a turnaround plan in 2011.

Profit powerhouse Bunnings meanwhile is facing slower sales growth, with lingering questions in the market about how a weakening housing market will effect its earnings.

Ms Hunter was chosen to lead the Coles demerger process last year after eight years with the supermarket, including a stint as head of its Victorian operations. Prior to that the Australian businesswoman held a senior position at London's Gatwick Airport.

Ms Hunter said that Officeworks already had a "fantastic" track record under its outgoing boss of 11 years, Mark Ward, and that she would look to grow on that foundation.

"We’ll take some time over the coming months to work through with the team where we think that growth needs to come from, and can come from, and that’s the opportunity for us to reset the strategy," she said.

“One of the things that Officeworks has been pretty famous for… is anticipating where customer behaviour and buying patterns and interest is changing, and making sure the product range is changing with the customer, if not slightly ahead of the customer."

Over the past 12 months Officeworks had “dipped its toe in the water” of two new categories - early education materials and art supplies - with promising results.

Hunter said she saw “huge opportunities” in those areas, which also served as an entry point to a product offer that covered a customers' needs across their entire "life cycle' - starting with finger painting materials and drawing, to educational flash cards, through to schooling and university supplies.

Closing that "cycle", Officeworks was also looking at how it could serve older customers who wanted to use technology like iPads and laptops but needed support doing so.

In addition to serving its traditional customer base of sole traders and small enterprises, Officeworks is also looking at if it can sell desks, chairs and computers to larger businesses.

Officeworks recently fitted out its Wesfarmers stablemate Target's head office, when it moved from Geelong to Melbourne, as a test of whether it contract office supplies at a commercial scale.

“It’s early days, and I think there’s enormous opportunity," Ms Hunter said.

More than 20 per cent of Officeworks' sales are online, making it one of the most successful local bricks and mortar to transition into digital commerce.

"In some of the smaller stores its just a small sample and vouchers of what you can buy. We’re often finding people come in understand what they want, go home and then buy online," she said.

Wesfarmers looked in 2017 to float Officeworks separately, but shelved those plans after deciding it would not attract a fair price because of the soft equity market.

The group in the past year has sold several assets as part of a reshaping under MD Rob Scott including the last of its coal mining assets, Kmart Tyre and Auto, as well as demerging its largest business, the $16 billion Coles supermarket chain.

Wintour has chaired the Metropolitan Museum of Art's fundraising gala for most of the past 25 years. The event takes place annually on the first Monday in May in New York City and sees the world's top celebrities wearing bespoke outfits to match the museum's summer fashion exhibition.

While details of which gown Wintour will donate to Melbourne are being finalised, Australian fashion lovers will be hoping it's her dress from 2015, when the theme was China, or 2008, which had a superhero theme.

During Wintour's week-long visit, she will also meet a group of emerging Australian designers. A series of other engagements is being planned under the direction of Vogue Australia editor-in-chief Edwina McCann.

Next Thursday, she will headline the Australian Open's "Inspirational Series" of talks. Last year's guest was tennis and feminist icon Billie Jean King.

In recognition of her career achievements, Tennis Australia will honour Wintour during a special ceremony on Rod Laver Arena between the two women’s semifinals matches on Thursday afternoon.

Ahead of her visit, Wintour said: "As a lifelong tennis fan who's spent years watching the Australian Open on television at odd hours of the day and night in New York and elsewhere, I'm delighted to be headed to Melbourne to see my very first Australian Open."

McCann, who is a close friend of gallery director Tony Ellwood, has helped orchestrate the donation of the gown. It is not known when it will go on display at the gallery, which holds a substantial fashion collection.

In 2017, the NGV launched its own version of the Met Gala, which is co-chaired by McCann.

Wintour's close friendships within the tennis world also include Serena Williams, with reports she helped the tennis star choose her wedding dress.

Williams featured on the cover of Vogue in February 2018, when she revealed she had suffered severe pregnancy complications prior to the birth of her daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.

Sears boss Eddie Lampert has some tough thinking ahead in the battle to save Sears.  AP

The agreement, reached early on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT), still needs to be approved by the United States judge overseeing the bankruptcy, giving the company's creditors a chance to derail the deal.

Lampert may have beat out other bidders, but he hasn't exactly won himself a prize. Sears remains as troubled as ever, and this takeover won't change that. I still believe it's only a matter of time before the company winds up in liquidation.

Shoppers queued outside David Jones' Elizabeth Street store for the Boxing Day sales but sales were weak in the run-up to Christmas.  Jessica Hromas

David Jones' South African parent, Woolworths Holdings, said sales had weakened "in line with the rest of the retail market in the final weeks leading up to Christmas".

The latest figures may auger poorly for Myer, which underperformed David Jones in the first quarter, posting a 4.3 per cent fall in same-store sales. Analysts believe Myer's same-store sales for the quarter ending January are likely to fall 2 or 3 per cent..

Ed Harry managing director David Clark said the business had been facing fierce retail competition for some time.

"While this was to be expected, the directors had been exploring options for funding to enable Ed Harry to continue to compete and grow, however to this point have been unsuccessful," he said.

Established in 1993 and relaunched in 2011, Ed Harry operates 87 stores across all Australian mainland states and territories and employs 498 staff.

In the short-term, the South Australia-based business will immediately hold a clearance sale of existing merchandise to maximise options for the business.

KPMG said Ed Harry gift cards would be honoured for one month on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

"Like many other Australian retailers, after a strong period of growth, it has faced a challenging environment over the past 12 months - and a particularly tough Christmas sales period," KPMG's Brendan Richards said.

"It has also become clear that shopping centre footfall has been significantly weaker than expected."

The first meeting of creditors of the company will be held in Adelaide on January 24.

On Monday, it moved to reassure shareholders by reaffirming its guidance given in October for first-half profit to be $10.5 million.

"Notwithstanding the ongoing challenges of a very competitive retail environment, our team members responded in presenting a November and December store offering that was well supported by our customers," chairman Bill Stevens said.

Jigsaw’s interim chief executive, Chris Stephenson, is stepping down on 28 January after six months in the role, and chairman Charles Atterton is to retire, Drapers can reveal. 

Stephenson will move into a non-executive position at the retailer.

Group HR director Toby Foreman will assume the role of interim CEO. Jigsaw’s existing team of senior directors will report into Foreman and as a whole to the board and the shareholders.

Atterton worked at Jigsaw for more than 20 years in a variety of roles. He returned to an executive role as Jigsaw’s executive chairman in March. He was joint CEO with Jigsaw’s founder, John Robinson, from 1997 until 2013.

Stephenson was previously global president of activewear at Pentland Brands, and had also held leadership roles at rugby brand Canterbury and 20:20 Mobile. He was dubbed a “turnaround specialist” when his appointment at Jigsaw was announced.

He replaced Peter Ruis, who left the CEO role with the immediate effect in March last year and joined Anthropologie in the newley created role of Managing director of international at the start of July.

Jigsaw’s UK like-for-like sales for the 10 weeks to 22 December increased 6.3%, compared with the same period last year.

Both own stores and online performed well: like-for-like store sales were up 6%, and online sales up 17% on 2017. Jigsaw said the performance was supported by a “strong product offer, as well as developing the omnichannel customer proposition, including investment online, and a continued focus on the in-store experience”.

The company added: “Jigsaw is grateful for all the hard work of all our colleagues. We will continue to invest in our people and product to further develop and enhance the quality of our customer proposition.”

Westfarmers' trading update revealed Kmart’s comparable sales fell 0.6 per cent in the December half. While its sibling Target increased its comparable sales 0.5 per cent, earnings before interest and tax for the group’s department store division will fall from $415 million in the December half of 2017 to between $385 million and $400 million in the six months to 31 December last year.

The Kmart juggernaut that Guy Russo presided over for a decade, as he transformed what had been a perennially poor performer into an earnings powerhouse and completely disrupted the department store sector in the process, spluttered in the December half.

Wesfarmers attributed the weaker sales in apparel categories, particularly women’s wear, ‘’moderated’’ growth in everyday products and the planed exit from the low-margin DVD category which had represented about one per cent of sales.

The rate of growth in Kmart’s sales had been trending lower since the start of this financial year but clearly the critical Christmas trading period disappointed.

The other legacy of the demerger is a pristine balance sheet, arguably one that is overly pristine.

The Wesfarmers’ trading update said it would record pre-tax profits on the sales of its Bengalla coal mine interest, the Kmart Tyre and Auto business and its interest in Quadrant Energy of about $1 billion. It would also record a non-cash gain on the demerger of between $2.1 billion and $2.3 billion.

The overall impact of the asset sales and demerger on the group’s balance sheet has been to reduce net debt from $3.6 billion at 30 June last year to a mere $300 million at 31 December.

That creates a very lazy balance sheet; one that will generate sub-optimal returns on capital unless Wesfarmers does something to reinstate some financial leverage.

Wesfarmers’ chairman, Michael Chaney, tried to dampen speculation that Scott’s clean out of the portfolio was to prepare for a major acquisition by telling last year’s annual meeting he was ‘’somewhat bemused’’ by newspaper reports suggesting the board and/or CEO were under pressure to make an acquisition.

‘’The financial strength of Wesfarmers doesn’t mean that we feel any urgency to make new acquisitions. Apart from there being many opportunities for growth within our existing businesses, new investments will only occur if they have the potential to deliver superior returns to shareholders over the long term,’’ he said.

In 2013 Chaney, as chairman of Woodside, was confronted with a similar issue. A decision not to proceed with the $40 billion onshore processing plant at James Price Point for the group’s Browse gas field left Woodside awash with cash.

It paid a $520 million special dividend to shareholders and lifted its on-going payout ratio to 80 per cent of earnings. When it needed cash to help fund its acquisition of Exxon's stake in the Scarborough gas field last year, it raised $2.5 billion via a rights issue.

Something similar – a special dividend or share buy-back and an increased payout ratio – would be the obvious alternative to a major acquisition if Wesfarmers is to make its balance sheet work a bit harder and boost its returns on capital. Should Scott come up with a compelling acquisition, it could always do what Woodside did and ask shareholders to help fund it.

While a bit of leverage might juice up its performance statistics ultimately the performance of its key businesses -- and Bunnings and the department stores are now its key businesses – will determine the success or otherwise of Scott’s initial period as CEO.

He’ll be hoping that Bunnings continues to deliver solid performances despite the downturn in the housing market and putting pressure on department store CEO Ian Bailey and his team to ensure that Kmart’s soft half is an aberration within what has been a decade of stellar results.

Struggling UK department store Debenhams has reported a 3.4 per cent drop in like-for-like sales over the crucial six-week Christmas trading period to 5 January 2019, after reporting a record full-year loss of nearly 500 million pounds ($886.5 million) in FY18.

Announced at its annual general meeting on Thursday, the retailer said it is nevertheless on track to deliver current year profits in line with market expectations of 8.2 million pounds profit before tax, as it continues to identify cost savings, including its plan announced last October to close up to 50 underperforming stores.

This wasn’t enough to satisfy investors, however, who voted Debenhams’ CEO Sergio Bucher off the board and chairman Sir Ian Cheshire out of the company.

Two major shareholders, Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct and Landmark Group, voted against the reelection of both Bucher and Cheshire, leading the latter to step down from the board with immediate effect. Bucher has agreed to stay on as CEO but will no longer serve on the board.

“I recognise that individual shareholders have wished to register their dissatisfaction. I would like to thank Ian for his strong leadership of the board and his contribution to the business. We wish him all the best for the future.  I am looking forward to working with Sergio. My first task is to meet with shareholders so that I understand any concerns that they may have,” Terry Duddy, Debenhams’ senior independent director, said in a statement.

The shake-up comes one day after Reuters reported that a group of lenders hired FTI Consulting to advise on restructuring the struggling department store. Debenhams has been asked for comment but had not replied at the time of this writing.

In addition to the 3.4 per cent drop in like-for-like sales over the six-week Christmas trading period, Debenhams reported a 5.7 per cent drop in like-for-like sales for the 18 weeks to 5 January 2019. The UK business was down 6.2 per cent, with international down 3.5 per cent over the same period. Digital sales grew 4.6 per cent across the period.

Debenhams said on Thursday that it may seek to bring in new sources of funding, as it faces requirements to refinance existing bank facilities in the next 12 months. In December, the company turned down a 40 million pound ($70.9 million) loan offer from Sports Direct, saying that it came with conditions that would impact the interests of other shareholders.

Sports Direct, which is owned by British billionaire Mike Ashley, acquired another struggling department store, House of Fraser, last year, after it went into administration, for 90 million pounds ($159.6 million), and some have speculated that Ashley is interested in combining the two businesses, according to Reuters.

The group cited "integration efficiencies, restocking of the newly acquired brands and continued online improvements", as reasons for the profitable half. In addition to its namesake chain Noni B, the group now owns retailers Katies, Crossroads, Autograph, Katies, Rivers and Millers. 

Noni B chief executive Scott Evans is understood to be focused on reducing inefficiencies in the business, with the bulk of the savings expected to come from logistics and supply chains. The effort is likely to hinge on combining aspects of back-end operations for the different brands, which cater to different segments of the market for women's fashion.

Noni B's successful Christmas season comes amid a period of significant uncertainty for the retail sector. 

Shifts in the retail calendar and the rise of online retail, combined with pressures on discretionary spending, saw in-store foot traffic fall dramatically in December. 

Beauty and home products retailer Crabtree & Evelyn announced the closure of its entire network of 12 stores across Australia on Wednesday. Adventure goods retailer Kathmandu Group issued a profit warning in the first week of January, sending its shares tumbling by 14.1 per cent on the day.

Noni B shares lifted 10 per cent on Thursday to $2.75, taking gains for the year to 38 per cent. It is trading well below a 12-month high of $3.75 hit in October. Analysts gave the stock an average 12-month price target of $4.32 in 2018, but cautioned that the real test for the company would come in 2019.

Noni B Group also stood by its previous projection that full year EBITDA would reach $45 million.

While foot traffic fell approximately 8 per cent between Black Friday to Boxing Day, certain retail categories managed to pull together impressive growth over the period, according to research from analysis firm Citi.

Shoppers continued to look online for their Christmas and holiday spending, with high discounting generally required to entice shoppers into stores.

However, the supermarket sector in particular saw strong growth, with both market leaders Woolworths and Coles delivering solid results and ending the period with neither brand in a leading position.

“In recent years there has been a clear winner and loser over Christmas,” the report reads.

“This is likely to be the first Christmas in five years and the second time over the past 14 years that both Woolworths and Coles delivered [like-for-like] sales growth within 1 point of each other.”

Woolworths is forecasted to deliver 3.4 per cent sales growth, with Citi noting that the retailer saw increased food sales and an improved Big W. Coles, on the other hand, is expected to hit 2.7 per cent growth, and saw stronger than expected food sales, positively surprising most suppliers over the period

Department stores saw a difficult period, according to Citi, with Myer’s attempts to reduce discounting puting it at a disadvantage compared to its contemporaries. David Jones ran a more aggressive promotional program, but didn’t necessarily see strong results, with the still-under-construction Elizabeth Street flagship weighing on sales growth.

Kmart’s 19-quarter run of like-for-like sales growth has likely come to an end, said Citi, while rivals Target and Big W delivered positive like-for-like sales growth in the low single digits.

Finally, while the sales trend across the footwear and apparel industries has been mixed, the athleisure trend remains strong, with footwear group Accent Group a beneficiary. Apparel sales were likely down due to the colder start to the summer season, while fashion footwear is likely to have seen more positive results.

Jewelry retailer Pandora has announced the appointment of Phil McNutt as the brand’s managing director for Australia and New Zealand.

McNutt’s appointment comes after former managing director Mikael Kruse took up the role of managing director of Pandora Northern Europe.

“Phil is an enthusiastic, hands-on career retailer who has held executive roles in North America, Asia and over the past 11 years served as president of Sunglass Hut Australia and New Zealand, overseeing the business doubling in size,” Pandora president Asia Pacific Kenneth Madsen said.

“He is an energetic, inclusive and collaborative leader who highly values a warm and supportive culture which grows, develops and unites its talent in pursuit of ambitious goals, whilst always demonstrating respect and appreciation for the individuals, team and customers.”

McNutt noted his excitement to join the business, having admired Pandora for some time.

“My in-store customer service experiences have impressed me with beautifully presented stores and staff who clearly have great passion and pride for the products,” McNutt said.

Madsen also thanked Kruse for his time working with the Australia-New Zealand arm of Pandora, noting that he will be missed.

“I’m sure he will do a great job as managing director Northern Europe – an extended role, closer to home,” Madsen said.

Holiday retail sales have increased 3.4 per cent with online sales growing 18.8 per cent compared to 2018, according to a report by Mastercard SpendingPulse. Total apparel saw a growth of 1 per cent year over year. Mastercard SpendingPulse provides insights into overall retail spending trends across all payment types, including cash and check. 

"E-commerce sales hit a record high this year with more people doing their holiday shopping online," said Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard and former CEO and chairman of Saks Incorporated. "Due to a later than usual Thanksgiving holiday, we saw retailers offering omnichannel sales earlier in the season, meeting consumers' demand for the best deals across all channels and devices."

The report details holiday shopping from November 1 through December 24. Key findings of the report indicate that this was a winning holiday season for retail, especially for e-commerce:

- Total apparel saw a gain, posting 1 per cent growth year over year. The category also experienced stronger than expected e-commerce growth, up 17 per cent compared to 2018.

- The Jewellry sector experienced 1.8 per cent growth in total retail sales, with online sales growing 8.8 per cent - supporting ecommerce strength. This trend started before the holiday season and helped the sector power through to its finish.

- Department stores saw overall sales decline 1.8 per cent and online sales growth of 6.9 per cent, emphasising the importance of omnichannel offerings.

- Electronics and appliances were up 4.6 per cent, while the home furniture and furnishings category grew 1.3 per cent.

Mastercard SpendingPulse reports on national retail sales across all payment types in select markets around the world. The findings are based on aggregate sales activity in the Mastercard payments network, coupled with survey-based estimates for certain other payment forms, such as cash and check.

UK fashion retailer Next has revealed its holiday sales results, with surge in online shopping in the weeks leading up to Christmas contributing to a 1.5 per cent full priced sales increase seen for the period compared to the year prior.

Online sales for the period were 2.2 per cent ahead of expectations at $30.6 million (£17 million), while retail sales fell 1.7 per cent to $28.8 million (£16 million).

Next chief executive Simon Wolfson told Reuters the switch to online trading rather than physical retail trading was more pronounced over the Christmas period, and that the trend was “definitely continuing.”

“It’s one that retailers are going to have to grapple with and get used to,” Wolfson said.

The retailer laid out sales and profit guidance for the year ahead, noting expectations of full price sales growth of 1.7 per cent, with online sales growing 1.1 per cent and retail sales falling 8.5 per cent, as well as a group profit before tax of $1.29 billion (£715 million) – 1.1 per cent lower than the year prior.

However, the company notes any sales forecast made in January comes with a degree of uncertainty due to the performance of the UK economy after Brexit.

“We have not factored into our sales estimates the potential benefits of a smooth transition or the downsides of a disorderly Brexit,” the company said in a note to investors.

The business is scheduled to announce its full year results in March, which will come with updated, detailed guidance on the year ahead.

Kathmandu's profit warning has come as a shock given the retailer had provided a rosy picture of trading in late November at its annual meeting. Justin McManus

The announcement came as a shock given the retailer had provided a rosy picture of trading in late November at its annual general meeting.

Just six weeks ago, the New Zealand company said its same-store sales rose 6.3 per cent over the preceding 15 weeks to November 11, and sales were up 7.1 per cent in Australia and 5.2 per cent in New Zealand.

At the time, Mr Simonet said the chain had "achieved good sales growth leading into the key Christmas trading period, and we expect first-half profit to be strongly above last year".

Weaker conditions

Consumer spending conditions have weakened since September due to the softening housing market and equity market volatility as well as political uncertainty with a pending federal election.

Ahead of Christmas, Morgans analysts Josephine Little and James Barker said over the past few years, the market had been "highly cautious on retail trading conditions over the key Christmas trading period, only to be surprised by relatively upbeat results in February. But this time it feels a little different to us.

"Clearly the softening housing market is of most concern given its high correlation with household discretionary spending," they added.

On Wednesday, Kathmandu said sales in its Oboz US hiking boots business purchased last April for $97 million were expected to grow about 35 per cent to $NZ27.5 million in the first half of 2019.

Excluding any currency impacts, group profits are now expected to be 4 per cent to 8 per cent above the first half of fiscal 2018.

Kathmandu reported a 33 per cent increase in net profit to a record $NZ50.5 million ($46.4 million) for the 12 months ending July 2018.

In September, it said its fleece jackets, thermals and hiking packs could be on the shelves of North American Shops by October this year.

Kathmandu has been in talks with Oboz's major customers, including Recreational Equipment Inc (REI) and Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, a group of independent outdoor specialty retailers, about stocking its outdoor gear.

Kathmandu has yet to penetrate the highly competitive North American outdoor market, which is dominated by leading global companies such as The North Face, Patagonia, and Backcountry.

Kathmandu will release its half-year results on March 26.

Australian Lingerie brand Honey Birdette has launched its first US store in Westfield Century City, Los Angeles, focused on a unique design including whisky bar carts and ‘press-for-champagne’ buttons.

The store will offer exclusive and limited-edition products, and is fronted by a glass mirrored store front centred by a gold tiled entry arch.

“We are focusing on unique designs concepts for all of our future boutiques and each footprint will have its own unique element,” Honey Birdette founder and managing director Eloise Monaghan said.

“Some might have a champagne bar for example, a private salon in one, a peep show in another, a stage or a catwalk.”

The store opened to more than 500 shoppers who lined up to shop the brand physically for the first time in the US, and featured a DJ, champagne towers and confetti cannons.

The brand currently trades within 57 locations in Australia, as well as across three locations in the United Kingdom.

He and his partner Malika Orfanos left home at 4am on Wednesday to join a queue of dedicated shoppers outside Myer in Pitt Street Mall.

By 7am, they'd spent about $400, and Mr Farrugia told AAP he was just getting started.

"We'll probably spend close to a couple of grand today," he said.

With the South Australian government legislating Boxing Day trade across all parts of the state, the ARA suspects SA retailers will notice an exponential growth in sales.

ARA executive director Russell Zimmerman said with retail trade expected to peak, bricks-and-mortar retailers should prepare their stores for an extraordinary increase in foot-traffic.

Online retailers should also ensure their e-commerce and social platforms are able to handle the influx in website traffic, he added.

"While online customers will be rushing to add items to their shopping carts, physical retailers will be experiencing a high volume of customers dashing to the registers," Mr Zimmerman said.

He urged customers to be patient and co-operative with retail staff during the expected mayhem.

"At the end of the day, retail workers are people too. Staff in retail stores are there to help and should not be made the target of bullying, abuse or harassment."

For Sydney's Craig Farrugia, the Boxing Day sales in the city are so good that it's worth skipping the giving of gifts on Christmas Day.

He and his partner Malika Orfanos left home at 4am on Wednesday to join a queue of dedicated shoppers outside Myer in Pitt Street Mall.

By 7am, they'd spent about $400, and Mr Farrugia told AAP he was just getting started.

Shoppers queue in Melbourne for Boxing Day sales. Scott McNaughton

"We'll probably spend close to a couple of grand today," he said.

The couple had decided to skip Christmas gift-giving in favour of splurging at the sales because "the savings are that good".

Asked why he didn't shop online, Mr Farrugia said there was something about the whole experience and the "lovely buzz around the city".

"We're Sydney people, we love the city and just coming in, the crowds and it's just exciting," he said.

Claudia Fydler also told AAP she liked "the joy of coming in ... and walking around and looking at stuff".

She was looking for "anything and everything - anything that's on sale, I'll get".