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Footwear conglomerate Accent Group has reported a 160% increase in its digital sales in the first half of FY23 compared to the same time in FY20. This is despite a drop from the first half of FY22.

The drop in online sales has been noted in other recent trading updates, including Universal Store and Best & Less, matched with a rise in bricks-and-mortar sales.

In the first half of FY22, the Group accrued a record online sales of $159.9 million, triple the size of 1H FY20 results of $51.6 million. In 1H FY23, the Group’s online sales dropped to $134 million, which is still above the results in both the first half of FY21 and FY20.

Its digital sales contributed to 18.9% of the Group’s total sales in 1H FY23, with total sales up 39% on the same period last year to $825 million.

Compared to pre-pandemic (1H FY20), Accent Group’s fulfilled 106.4% more online orders in 1H FY23, with a conversion rate increase of 8.7% in the same period, and an average order value increase of 21.5%.

The Group also added 300,000 new contactable customers to its base, which now sits at 9.6 million, with a goal to reach 10 million in the year ahead. The total contactable customer base has more than doubled since FY19.

Accent Group said Platypus, Skechers and Hype in particular have continued to grow their customer base and drive repeat customer behavior, alongside the launch of a new customer data platform.

Its loyalty program now has a total membership of 7.4 million across The Athlete’s Foot, Hype DC, Platypus, Merrell and Skechers.

Accent Group CEO Daniel Agostinelli welcomed the results, citing the continued focus on customer, new product, full margin sales, and return on investment as the key drivers.

“What is most pleasing is the strength and consistency of performance across our large core banners, including Skechers, Platypus, Hype DC, The Athlete’s Foot (TAF), Vans and Dr Martens, along with the progress that we have made in our new banners now that trading conditions have normalised,” Agostinelli said.

“One of the key initiatives for H1 was driving the profitability of the Accent Group digital business. Whilst sales were down on last year due to the lockdowns in 2021, we have improved our digital business and online EBIT was ahead of last year.”

Meanwhile, the group opened 53 new stores across its markets, transitioned 13 stores from discontinued to continuing and closed 10 stores where the required rent outcomes could not be achieved. The group now holds 805 stores, with an estimated total of 825 to be achieved by FY23 end.

In the start of the second half of FY23, like-for-like (LFL) sales for the first seven weeks were up 16% on the prior year. Compared with FY20, LFL sales were up 16.1%, a compound annual growth of 5.1%.

“Whilst we recognise that there is some uncertainty in the economic outlook, to this point we have not yet seen any significant change to consumer spending in our categories,” Agostinelli said. “Many of our brands target a younger customer demographic who tend to be less impacted by interest rates and cost of living pressures.

“In conclusion, I am pleased with the ongoing progress that has been made on our key growth strategies as we continue to build a strong, defensible business in Australia and New Zealand.

“Our portfolio of global distributed brands, owned vertical brands, integrated digital capability and large store network are core assets of the group and position the company well for growth into the future.”

Bedding and homewares retailer Adairs has reported strong first-half sales across its two largest brands as customers resumed shopping in stores rather than online after pandemic restrictions eased.

The company owns and operates the Adairs, Focus on Furniture and Mocka brands.

For the 26 weeks to December 25, sales increased 34.1 per cent to $324.2 million while statutory tax-paid profit reached $21.8 million, up 23.9 per cent.

Adairs’ sales were up 13.1 per cent to $220.4 million with store sales growing 22.9 per cent however, online sales fell 7.4 per cent to $58.5 million.

Focus on Furniture achieved $78.6 million, up 20.1 per cent, with online sales down to $5 million after all stores remained open during the half.

Mocka sales fell 26.18 per cent to $25.1 million as the brand cleared excess stock and resolved operational issues from the second half of the last financial year.

Mark Ronan, MD and CEO of Adairs Limited, said the continued sales growth highlights the “strength of our brands, the critical role of our exclusive product, and the resilience” of the Australian consumer.

“Across the brands, we are focussed on our operational execution, continued development of exclusive on-trend products and growing our membership bases, putting us in a good position to manage what is likely to be a challenging trading environment in the second half.”

In the first seven weeks of the second half, group sales grew 1.8 per cent as cost-out programs were implemented to manage the “potential impact” of a weaker economic environment.

Hate the chore of your weekly grocery shop? Picture this.

It’s Saturday morning and, between the rush of weekend errands, you open the app of your go-to supermarket. The retailer has been waiting for you to log on and is ready with a shopping list, having predicted what you’ll need for the week, and added it to your virtual trolley.

You hit one button to check out, and after being reminded of any coming special occasions (need a birthday cake this week?), you’re done. Later that day, you tell the store you’re about to swing by with one more click in the app and your bags are in your car boot the minute you pull up.

Prefer to go in store? Minimise the time you’ll spend playing trolley dodgem cars with other shoppers by planning your run first, logging on to work out what the best value ingredients are for each recipe you’re planning that week. If you’d like, pick the most nutritionally sound foods by tracking the exact health value of each item.

If you’ve interacted with a grocery store lately, you’ll know the scenes described above fall short of reality – but they may not be far away.

It’s been five years since Amazon first launched its cashierless grocery outlet, Amazon Go, to the public, opening our imagination to the idea of the grocery store of the future, where you never have to interact with a soul.

And despite the rise of the self-serve checkout, the idea that the grocery store of the future boils down to robot stores without staff, or purely online delivery, is holding less and less weight.

“There is no doubt Australian people still like shopping in supermarkets,” Coles boss Steven Cain said this week.

Instead, the investments that major grocery operators are making in Australia and overseas point to a future where data and delivery tech blur the lines between in-store and online shopping, making it easier for your food to get to you without you having to think about it.

After three years of supersized e-commerce growth thanks to the pandemic, online grocery sales are stabilising. At Woolworths, e-commerce food sales declined by 7.5 per cent in the six months to December, while at Coles they were down 6.6 per cent.

Nobody believes the digital rush is over yet, though. The return to regular trading conditions has instead given stores the breathing room to roll out their longer-term investments in the digital space.

Asked what the most significant change to grocery shopping will be in the next five to 10 years, Woolworths boss Brad Banducci has two words: “extreme convenience”.

The current focus is on making sure customers receive identical service whether they’re in the shop, getting groceries placed in their car or on their doorstep. A world where grocery apps play a bigger role in guiding your shopping, and predicting what you need, might not be too far off, he says.

“[Where] it’s all on the app and your list is just downloaded, dynamic to you with the predictive ability to know what [products] you’ve used – that future is not far away.”

Here come the bots

Robots are moving into the warehouse at Coles, and boss Steven Cain is upbeat about how they will improve the group’s home delivery service.

“I’m hoping it’s good,” he said of the customer experience that’s expected from the retailer’s new automated home delivery fulfilment centres in Sydney and Melbourne, “because I’m going to be one of [the customers].”

It’s been four years since Coles first announced a deal with British online grocery business Ocado to establish warehouses, run mostly by robots, to service the home-delivery market. Those plans are now inching towards completion.

The company said this week that the Victorian centre was set to ramp up from the middle of the 2024 financial year, with NSW not far behind.

Once up and running, the idea is these sites will help to erase the lingering annoyances of grocery delivery.

“It cures the biggest pain point in home shopping today, which is, ‘Did I get everything I ordered, and was it on time?’ It’s supposed to be a convenience offering, but it’s not very convenient, say, if a key product doesn’t turn up,” Cain said.

The model is also designed to address the pain that comes from not knowing exactly how fresh produce will be when it lands on your doorstep, and how long until it expires.

“The idea over time is [there is] an extended range versus what you can get in a normal supermarket, delivered in full, on time with a guaranteed ‘fresh life’ on some of the key products, like meat,” Cain said.

The past year has marked the demise of grocery shopping apps which, during the COVID era, promised to bring you food in as little as a quarter of an hour.

The major supermarkets aren’t buying into the idea that delivery can happen that quickly, but they do appreciate that immediacy and reliability is what shoppers want.

“It’s more ‘same day’ – people want it and want it now,” Banducci said, noting that fast turnaround for grocery pick-up and delivery must become even easier for customers.

Despite an overall decline in online grocery delivery sales last half, some Woolies initiatives are growing, such as its Delivery Unlimited subscription, which offers deliveries on same or next-day orders for a monthly fee.

The company’s paid subscribers grew 48.2 per cent in the six months to December.

And while instant deliveries might be a stretch, Woolies is promising it can do some jobs in less than 60 minutes – its Metro60 offer has expanded over the past year with a promise of being able to deliver to customers in metro Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane certain items within the hour.

Knowing the product, knowing the customer

Shoppers of the future are set to know more about their food than ever before, while retailers hope to know more about their customers in a bid to more accurately meet their needs.

“In five years’ time, there won’t be anything you won’t be able to find out about what you’re eating, where it came from, and how green it is, what the health components are,” Cain said.

Chinese retail giant Alibaba has been a pioneer in this space, building supermarkets designed to be used with an app. Shoppers can scan fresh produce, such as lobsters, to find out where it came from or direct them to other products such as a bottle of wine that would complement a purchase.

In Australian supermarkets, Banducci says there’s room for retailers to offer more solutions for shoppers, anticipating what they’ll need for recipes and making it easier for them to pick up ingredients in-store.

“That classic, old Australian dish, the spaghetti bol’ – you still have to walk up and down to find the pasta here, the sauce there. That will become much, much easier,” he said.

Meanwhile, the rise of grocery loyalty programs is giving retailers a greater window into how you shop, and what deals you might be interested in.

Coles and Wesfarmers’ Flybuys program and Woolworths’ Everyday Rewards memberships now cover millions of households across Australia, and operators are increasingly using past shopping data to work out individual promotions for customers.

Both programs now send personalised specials and deals to their members regularly, using shopping data to anticipate a customer’s needs and interests.

“We combine information about how, when and where you like to shop, the products you buy, whether you prefer in-store or online shopping, and more,” Everyday Rewards tells its users, highlighting that it can send offers based on a member’s favourite or most frequently bought items.

“We may recommend items related to what you or others with similar interests would usually buy, and if you engage, we may send you similar offers again.”

Steven Cain told analysts at an earnings briefing this week that the personalised approach was a winner. He said Coles had introduced Flybuys member pricing on some items recently, as well as putting a focus on individually tailored offers, which in turn was driving greater use of the loyalty program.

“It’s never been more important from a customer perspective,” he said.

Sales and profit through the David Jones department store chain and Country Road Group surged in the half year to December 25, according to a filing by South African parent Woolworths Holdings. 

The company said its Australian and New Zealand subsidiaries “continued their positive momentum” despite the increased inflationary pressures during the period. 

In the David Jones business, Woolworths said a successful turnaround strategy had resulted in a “notable improvement” in underlying operational and financial health.

Adjusted operating profit was up 245.8 per cent to $106.5 million with overall turnover up by 31.8 per cent and concession sales by 27.6 per cent. 

Online sales contributed 17.2 per cent of total sales, compared to 28.1 per cent for the prior period. Flagship and CBD stores performed ahead of expectations, the company said. 

Woolworths announced in December that it was to sell the David Jones business to Anchorage Capital and the division’s results will now be included in the interim results as a discontinued operation. Settlement is expected by the end of this month.  

At Country Road Group – where the Politix and Witchery chains were the star performers – strong full-price sales and reduced promotional activity saw gross profit margin increase by 400 basis points to 63.5 per cent, despite higher supply-chain costs which contributed to a 22 per cent increase in expenses against the previous comparable period, where lockdowns were in place for part of the time.

Adjusted operating profit increased by 94.2 per cent to $93.2 million.

The group’s comp-store sales rose by 26.6 per cent and overall sales by 25.5 per cent during the half. Online sales contributed 26.1 per cent of total sales, compared to 33.8 per cent a year earlier.

Department store chain Myer is seeking to divest three of its best-known clothing brands and has hired KPMG Corporate Finance to run a sale process, Street Talk can reveal.

It is understood high-end fashion label Sass & Bide – on which Myer spent $42.3 million to purchase a two-thirds stake in 2011, in a move that caused rival David Jones to dump the label – is on the block, alongside Marcs and its sister brand, David Lawrence.

Major local fashion labels have becoming increasingly attractive to international buyout groups and cashed-up family offices, culminating in the purchase of a majority stake in Zimmerman by Advent International last year in a deal that valued the brand at as much as $1.75 billion. Gina Rinehart and Andrew Forrest have also splashed out, acquiring heritage brands Driza-Bone and RM Williams respectively.

A sale of the three high-profile brands would mark the next stage in an overhaul of the struggling department chain, which has been shedding stores as it attempts to reposition the business under new chairman Ari Mervis.

KPMG started contacting potential buyers just before Christmas, and a sale flyer was sent to interested parties in the past fortnight. The corporate adviser’s consumer team, led by dealmaker Luke Lawrentschuk, is expected to run a two-stage process. The three brands make about $100 million in turnover, sources said.

Myer, capitalised at $620 million, has launched the sale to continue to drive strategic alignment, with the company keen to move away from owning vertical brands, sources said. Of note, Sass & Bide is being sold as a separate entity to Marcs and David Lawrence.

WAM Capital portfolio manager Oscar Oberg told this column at the weekend that the mooted sale process was “strategically sound” and would allow Myer’s board to “focus on what they do best which is department stores”.

“We will see what management present at their result, but these brands may have been impacting earnings, so any sale would be welcome and would strengthen the balance sheet,” Oberg said.

On trend

Sass & Bide, now wholly owned by Myer, was founded in 1999 by friends Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton. It’s proven incredibly resilient in the face of foreign retail giants, like Zara and Topshop, invading Australian shores and has benefited from an expansion of the label’s freestanding and concession store network. Marcs, founded in 1984 by the late Mark Keighery, was once the retailer du jour for menswear, famous for its colourful cotton shirts and well-tailored suits.

Outgoing CEO John King has spent the past six years implementing his “customer first” plan, shrinking floor space and closing stores, helping transition Myer into a profitable business that has returned to paying regular dividends. The shares are trading at 74¢, above where they were when King took over in 2018 when the stock was sitting at 40¢.

On February 6, Myer handed down a trading update that surprised on the upside, forecasting inte

rim sales down 3 per cent to $1.829 billion, or flat on a same-store basis. First-half net profit for the 26 weeks ended January 27 will be $49 million-$53 million, albeit dented by more discounting and inflationary cost pressures.

Myer operates 56 department stores and its online presence now represents more than 20 per cent of total sales of $3.36 billion in fiscal 2023. Its loyalty program, Myer one, has more than 7 million members.

Lawrentschuk – widely considered the consumer sector’s go-to adviser – is expected to call for first-round bids in the first half of March. Clayton Utz is on legals, sources added.

Luxury bags, shoes, clothing and jewellery are flying off the shelves at malls across the country even as rising interest rates hit consumer spending on more mundane items, with the mega Chadstone mall in Melbourne’s south-east the star performer.

Luxury retail sales for retail landlord Vicinity Centres soared by 55.8 per cent in the six months to the end of December to hit more than $1 billion annually for the country’s second-largest shopping centre owner and manager, which partly owns the Chadstone mall.

That helped underpin the revaluation of Chadstone to $3.25 billion, up 1.7 per cent. Vicinity owns the shopping centre along with private property billionaire John Gandel. The mall also has a luxury hotel managed by Accor, and is the new home to Officeworks’ head office.

Vicinity’s recently appointed chief executive Peter Huddle said the investment in the luxury segment at Chadstone, which now boasted more than 40 upmarket brands, by the landlord and its tenants had paid off, and there were plans to extend to the offerings.

He said that while there was evidence of a softening in the rate of sales growth across the 60 shopping centres the company managed and owned, he raised its earnings forecast to between 14 and 14.6 cents a unit for the full year, up from between 13 and 13.6 cents a unit previously. Vicinity’s shares closed 2 per cent higher at $2.05 on the news.

Chadstone’s success story aside, Vicinity reported a 73 per cent fall in statutory net profit overall to $176.3 million as it wrote down the value of its shopping centres in the consumer spending slowdown by $109.2 million. The more telling measure for real estate investment trust earnings, funds from operations, which excludes valuation volatility, rose 24.1 per cent to $357.1 million.

“Our growth in luxury is the result of our deliberate investment strategy to enhance our luxury landlord credentials,” Huddle said.

“Pleasingly, existing luxury brands are demanding more space to extend and elevate their product offerings, and we have a pipeline of potential new brands to bring to our premium centres in the short to medium term.”

In Sydney, Vicinity will look to add more luxury shops to its Chatswood Chase mall currently undergoing a $210 million expansion and refurbishment to cater for the demand for luxury brand items from upper North Shore shoppers.

Huddle called the spending on luxury “extraordinary”, adding that the sales growth in the sector since the lockdown period has been “exceptional”.

Many well-known brands such as Hermes, LVMH, Cartier and Chanel have invested in opening larger stores with more offerings from handbags to apparel and accessories.

“The brands have also increased the appeal of their offer to a much broader clientele, including a young clientele, and expanded into the male side of luxury,” Huddle said.

Ray White head of research Vanessa Rader said despite growing interest rates being expected to dampen spending, the S&P Global Luxury Index has recorded its greatest returns since April 2022.

Rader said it highlights the growing appetite for these luxury brands by consumers, both domestically and from overseas visitors.

“The growing emphasis on these establishments within our CBD brings a new level of quality and activity back to the city after a difficult few years and now represents 23.4 per cent of our street-fronted shops within our prime retail core,” she said.

Sequoia Asset Management’s Winston Sammut said Vicinity’s half-year result came in ahead of expectations as earnings benefited from better cash collections and the absence of lockdowns over the period.

Rent collections were strong, receiving 97 per cent of billings compared to 92 per cent in the corresponding period with speciality stores and mini majors, such as JB Hi-Fi, delivering sales growth of 21.7 per cent.

But Vicinity CEO Peter Huddle warned that “whilst guidance has been upgraded, the full-year result may be impacted by a fall in consumer confidence on the back of ongoing interest rate rises.”

Huddle said the factory outlet division had strong sales growth over the half and while capital cities had seen workers return to their CBDs, stores such as the QVB and The Strand in Sydney still had some lag in turnover.

“From a consumer demand perspective, the Australian retail sector continues to be a benefactor of an extremely tight employment market and robust household income growth and savings rates,” Huddle said.

“That said, we are mindful of the impact of rising interest rates and increased costs of living on Australian households in the near term, and we expect the rate of retail sales growth to moderate in the second half of the 2023 year.”

Vicinity reported an interim dividend of 5.75¢ payable on March 7.

David Jones will host a series of activations across its inner-city stores as part of World Pride 2023, including the launch of a new visual merchandising platform. 

The World Pride events will take place at Elizabeth Street and Bondi Junction locations from February 23 to March 5. 

Headlining the schedule is Briefs Factory, a diverse dance troupe who will perform across both locations as well as David Jones' Elizabeth Street windows. 

The performance will mark the launch of David Jones’ Our Window, Your Stage series, which will turn the windows of the Elizabeth Street and Bondi Junction stores into animated performance platforms.

David Jones Elizabeth Street store manager Wendy Rafferty said live model installations and DJs from the LGBTQIA+SB community will also run throughout the month. 

“For David Jones, Pride month is a time where we can reinforce our commitment to LGBTQIA+SB inclusion within our stores and beyond, celebrating acceptance and allyship, and championing authenticity.

“Through a series of unmissable events and in-store experiences, our community will be encouraged to imagine a world full of possibility, where individuality is celebrated and the voices of the LGBTQIA+SB community are heard.”

The Elizabeth Street store will feature a glitter rainbow booth at its entrance, while brands such as Calvin Klein, OPI, Dyson, Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs Fragrance, MAC and Bonds offer limited-edition goods, events, gifts with purchase and personalised products.

Visual merchandising assistant Craig Barrie will also join the schedule as alter ego 'Luna Laurent' (pictured). As a member of the LGBTQIA+SB community, Luna will make her editorial debut in the February issue of JONES Magazine, alongside many other members of the queer community.

“To me, Pride is about standing together, united and lifting each other up. It’s the perfect opportunity to unapologetically celebrate the queer community and all that we are, having conversations about our journey and where there is opportunity for further growth, support, and progression. To feel safe and supported as a queer in the workplace at David Jones has given me the ability to be exactly who I am, free of judgment - which is something I’m incredibly grateful for and why I am proud to work here,” Barrie said.  

David Jones stores around Australia will take part in the national Pride campaign, with rainbow store displays and team members given the option to wear a Pride badge.

David Jones has 43 department stores across Australia and New Zealand as well as an eCommerce site.

Baby Bunting has reported a 12.2% increase in in-store sales for the first half of FY23, now representing 80% of total sales.

The baby retailer, which stocks apparel from Bonds and Disney, saw eCommerce sales drop as a total of percentage of sales from 23.8% to 19.7%.

Touchless Click & Collect also fell in the first half by 30.2% compared to prior corresponding period, as consumers revert to pre-pandemic shopping behaviours.

However, it is still up by around 225% over a three year period.

Baby Bunting's pro forma net profit after tax was at $5.1 million, down 59% on the prior corresponding period (1H FY22), with total sales being 6.6% higher ($254.9 million) than prior period.

Baby Bunting CEO & MD Matt Spencer said its sales have grown by 36.7% over the last three years, noting that all Baby Bunting stores remained open during the pandemic.

“As life has normalised, the market share gains made through COVID have predominantly been held onto,” Spencer said.

“Post-COVID, our product segment performance is normalising. Nursery essentials – being a core category – continue to grow strongly and were up 12.7% in the half (over three years, this category is up 39.4%).

“Consumer staples, which are more widely available across general retail, saw a decline of 4.7%. Play time items (including Play gear) declined 3.6% in the half, reflecting price deflation and reduced demand after the pandemic.”

Meanwhile, Baby Bunting is driving investments into new markets, reporting a pro forma cost of doing business of 32.4% of total sales - an increase of 222 basis points on the prior corresponding period. It also cited significant wage inflation as contributing factor for the rising cost of doing business.

The company is preparing to launch its Baby Bunting Marketplace (to be available via its eCommerce site) in Q4 FY23, saying it presents a significant revenue opportunity. Baby Bunting said it is working with a number of suppliers to develop the offer, as it plans to launch the marketplace with 1,000 additional products.

The company also implemented a new advanced order management system and a time and attendance system, incurring a $2.2 million cost. Baby Bunting said that benefits are being realised from improvement in order management, and its ERP/POS replacement project is expected to move to vendor selection towards the end of FY23.

The company also added five new stores to its portfolio in the first half of FY23, including the expected launch of its second New Zealand store in Christchurch to open mid-2023. New Zealand is a relatively new market for the brand having only opened its first store there in mid-2022.

Consumer demand for cool sporting apparel, car maintenance products and wet weather gear have helped power Rebel and Supercheap Auto owner Super Retail Group to record sales in the six months to December.

The retailer, which runs a range of brands including sports goods brand Rebel, Macpac and Supercheap Auto, said its sales climbed 15 per cent to $1.96 billion in the six months to December. Profits were up by 38.1 per cent to $144.2 million.

Chief executive Anthony Heraghty said Rebel’s focus on partnering with popular global sporting brands had helped drive sales, while everyday essential spending on car products and strong demand for raincoats in this wet summer helped boost demand across Super Retail’s other major brands.

The group confirmed on Thursday that the sales momentum from the December half had continued into January.

Rebel’s performance fuelled the overall numbers, with year-on-year sales up 13 per cent to $682million for the half, and profits before tax up 23 per cent to $84 million.

Heraghty said the resurgence of organised sport after the pandemic is helping the brand, while the group’s new “RCX” (Rebel customer experience) store formats are offering a more interactive experience focused on more popular global sports brands in football and basketball.

“The key thing is what we’ve been able to do is partner with global brands to ensure the products we’re giving customers is, frankly, the cool stuff,” he said.

The company’s basketball goods sales were up 126 per cent compared with before the pandemic in 2019, and now make up 8 per cent of all sales. Rebel’s football goods segment has grown by 60 per cent since 2019 and now makes up 9 per cent of total sales.

“We’ve caught the zeitgeist in terms of the basketball trend,” Heraghty said.

The company was clear on Thursday that although it had posted a strong half of sales, it faces the same challenging macroeconomic conditions that the rest of the retail sector is grappling with.

Heraghty said that one positive for the company was that brands such as Supercheap Auto were more defensive because they focused on lower-cost essentials such as car maintenance, which consumers would not stop spending on in a slowdown.

“If my light bulb is broken on the brake light, I’ll get a new brake light,” he said.

Children’s sporting goods are also one of the last things a family will cut down on if things are tight – and even if shoppers are looking to scale down, this usually involves moving away from global brands towards more budget-friendly options.

“You might not buy the Lebron [branded sneaker], but you might buy two or three [price points] down,” Heraghty said.

Supercheap Auto sales were up by 18.3 per cent for the half to $728.6 billion, while BCF saw a 7 per cent change to $447.6 million.

Hiking and outdoor goods brand Macpac bounced back from the COVID years with sales growth of 54.8 per cent to $101.4 million. Heavy rainfall thanks to La Nina helped drive strong demand for raincoats and other wet weather gear.

The group declared an interim dividend of 34 cents per share, up from 27 cents this time last year.

Super Retail was hit with court action brought by the Fair Work Ombudsman last month over claims it engaged in serious breaches of the Fair Work Act through alleged underpayments which occurred between 2017 and 2019. 

The company told investors on Thursday that the case was still in its early stages, but it has increased its provision for what is potentially payable as a result of those proceedings by $8.8 million, bringing the total provision to $14.6 million.

Its shares were 4.3 per cent stronger to $12.48 in early afternoon trading.

Wesfarmers boss Rob Scott says the performance of struggling e-commerce marketplace Catch is unacceptable, but the retail giant is tipped to face an uphill battle to turn around the brand, which stands out as a sole blight on its balance sheet.

Industry analysts grilled the Wesfarmers executive team last week about how much pain they were prepared to put up with when it came to Catch, which has proven a headache since shortly after  Wesfarmers bought it for $230 million in 2019.

Wesfarmers confirmed last week that the gross transaction values on the Catch platform declined by 26.8 per cent in the six months to December, and the business posted a loss of $108 million for the half.

That included $33 million in restructuring costs as Wesfarmers embarked on redundancies and asset write-offs within the business, while moves were under way for a widespread reduction of costs.

Management blamed the poor results on a slowdown in e-commerce demand after COVID, which resulted in “surplus inventory and an unsustainable cost base” within the business.

Catch had invested heavily in inventory, fulfilment capacity and staff during the coronavirus-induced surge in online retail, but now spending conditions are slowing.

“We clearly over-invested,” Scott told analysts.

Stock watchers are running out of patience with the operation, with Wesfarmers’ initial investment in the company together with its cumulative losses now approaching $500 million.

“What can we as investors or market followers expect going forward – how much pain you prepared to put up with?” Bank of America’s David Errington asked Scott on Wednesday.

Scott said he believed earnings in the business would improve considerably in the second half of the 2023 financial year, but he agreed that Catch’s fortunes would have to turn around swiftly, or Wesfarmers would have to cut back on investing in the business.

“It’s not good enough, it’s unacceptable, we’re not satisfied with this at all. You can expect that we are taking very serious action to improve the financial performance,” he said.

“It’s going to be a disappointing year for Catch, but it will need to improve, it’ll need to improve materially in the years ahead, or we just simply won’t keep investing at the current level.”

Wesfarmers says its short-term goals include reducing overhead costs, which includes a reduction of its head count as well as running clearance activity to get rid of excess stock over the next few months.

The group will do this during a period in which pure-play online retail is slowing.

Online-only furniture retailer Temple & Webster was one example of an e-commerce business punished by investors last week, with shares plummeting 25 per cent after the company revealed a 46 per cent drop in half-year profits.

This could make the task of Catch’s turnaround all the more difficult, analysts fear.

“We believe the turnaround will be challenging given the very strong competition Catch faces from larger global marketplaces and omnichannel retailers, and the sharp shift in customers from online back to stores,” Citi analyst Adrian Lemme said in a note to clients.

Barrenjoey moved its price target from $49 to $48 after Wesfarmers’ results last week, pointing out that although the company delivered a strong first-half result, Catch’s growing losses were a lowlight.

“We lift our department stores and healthcare forecasts on better-than-expected results, which is more than offset by higher Catch losses (up from $50 million to $180 million), with Officeworks and [energy business] WESCEF lowered slightly,” consumer analyst Tom Kierath said.

Wesfarmers shares finished last week up by more than 3 per cent, after sharing more positive trading outlooks for discount department store Kmart and DIY giant Bunnings.

Catch has reported a loss of $108 million for the first half of the financial year, including restructuring costs of $33 million relating to inventory provisions, redundancies and asset write-offs. 

The Wesfarmers-owned online marketplace saw gross transaction value decline by 26.8 per cent during the period. 

Wesfarmers managing director Rob Scott said the result, for the half-year ended December 31 2022, was due to internal and external factors.  

“The disappointing financial performance in Catch reflected operational and execution challenges in addition to the broader decline in online retail demand during the period. 

“Catch’s earnings were impacted by significantly lower margin in the in-stock business due to increased clearance activity, as well as higher fulfilment and delivery costs associated with layout and process inefficiencies during commissioning of the new Moorebank fulfilment centre in New South Wales."

Catch has appointed a number of senior leaders in a turnaround strategy, including former Cotton On Group eCommerce head Brendan Sweeney in October 2022. 

"Restructuring activities to reduce overhead costs were commenced in December 2022 and additional commercial controls on range and inventory management have been implemented," Scott confirmed. 

Wesfarmers acquired Catch Group for $230 million in 2019.

Kmart Group has reported a 24.1 per cent increase in revenue for the first half of the financial year, generating $5.7 billion in the six months to December.

The Wesfarmers-owned group, which includes Kmart and Target, has seen earnings increase 114 per cent to $475 million.

Wesfarmers MD Rob Scott said retail trading results through the first five weeks of the second half are broadly in line with this result, supported by strong growth in areas most affected by COVID-related disruptions in January 2022.

“Kmart Group’s significant earnings result reflected strong operational execution, with comparable sales and volume growth, in addition to the impact of a normalisation in trading conditions following significant COVID-related restrictions in the prior corresponding period."

Kmart Group is positioned to meet changing consumer demand this year, as elevated inflation and higher interest rates result in more value conscious households.

“Customers continued to respond positively to Kmart’s lowest price positioning, and sales growth was achieved across all categories," Scott confirmed. 

"Target’s performance reflected continued improvements in the product offer, particularly in the focus categories of apparel and soft home.

"With more normal trading conditions during the half, the full benefits of the significant network change program undertaken across Kmart and Target were also able to be realised.

“Kmart Group continued to improve the digital experience for customers during the half, with ongoing investments in the Kmart and Target apps, and the launch of instore benefits for OnePass members.

"Kmart also continued to progress strategic initiatives to profitably grow its share of wallet, develop its data and digital assets, and digitise its operations.”

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence has dropped below its lowest point in 2023 by another 5.5pts to 78.1 this week after the RBA increased official interest rates to the highest rate since October 2012 (up +0.25% to 3.35%). It has now hit its lowest point since April 2020.

This was the largest weekly drop in Consumer Confidence following an RBA meeting since a drop of 6.6pts after the RBA increased interest rates by +0.5% in early June 2022.

Consumer confidence is now a large 25.1pts below the same week a year ago (February 7-13, 2022, 103.2). It is now also 6.8pts below the 2023 weekly average of 84.9.

Driving this week’s decline in consumer confidence was increasing concern about the performance of the Australian economy over the next year, a comparison of personal finances compared to a year ago, and whether now is a ‘good/bad time to buy’ major household items.

Consumer Confidence was down in all five mainland states this week, and under 80 in all of them except Western Australia.

Now 19% of Australians (down 3ppts) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, compared to 49% (up 2ppts) that say their families are ‘worse off’ financially.

Looking forward, under a third of Australians (31% - down 2ppts) expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while just over a third (35% - up 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’.

Only 7% (down 2ppts) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next twelve months, compared to 41% (up 8ppts) that expect ‘bad times’.

Regarding the Australian economy, 13% (up 1ppt) of Australians expecting ‘good times’ for the economy over the next five years, compared to 18% (unchanged) expecting ‘bad times’.

When it comes to buying intentions, 17% (down 6ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while over half (54% - up 5ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

ANZ senior economist Adelaide Timbrell said the average confidence among people paying off their mortgages fell sharper (10pts) than other housing cohorts last week.

“Confidence among homeowners and renters also fell, by 5.2pts and 2.9pts respectively,” Timbrell said. “The subindex for whether ‘it is a good time’ to buy a major household item dropped to its lowest since April 2020.”

The lowest point in consumer confidence was recorded in March 2020 at 72.2, with ANZ and Roy Morgan calling it a 30-year low.

JB Hi-Fi is the latest company to show that consumers are shrugging off the burden of higher interest rates on their home loans and spending up big on electronics and appliances over the past six months.

Bumper sales of laptops, gaming consoles and whitegoods during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday and Boxing Day promotions propelled the retailer to record sales and earnings in the December half.

JB Hi-Fi’s news comes a day after Super Retail posted a near 20 per cent December profit upgrade, with the owner of Supercheap, Rebel, BCF and Macpac telling The Australian Financial Review that shoppers are still spending, and retail is returning to normal with global supply chain kinks getting ironed out.

This week, Tyro Payments also revealed strong spending at retailers, pubs, restaurants and other hospitality venues that led to a strong first half and prompted the fintech to lift its profit guidance.

The early showing of half-year accounts came as the Westpac-Melbourne Institute index of consumer sentiment rose in January for a second month. Roy Morgan Business Confidence also improved in December, driven by a higher conviction about the performance of the Australian economy over the next year.

While consumers are battling higher costs for everyday items such as groceries and fuel, recently released strong retail sales and CPI data has raised the chance of another RBA rise in February.

JB Hi-Fi’s chief executive Terry Smart said trading conditions had started to normalise following two years of COVID-19 disruptions.

“Our relentless focus on providing the best value and high levels of customer service every day, both in store and online, continues to resonate with our customers,” he said.

JB Hi-Fi’s first-half sales gained 8.6 per cent to $5.3 billion in the six months to December 31 – topping analysts’ expectations.

Online sales in the December half reached $752.1 million, about 14.2 per cent of total sales in the first half. Same-store sales for JB Australia reached 8.5 per cent, while JB New Zealand bounced strongly to be up 16.1 per cent and The Good Guys brand same-store sales gained 7.3 per cent.

The rate of comparable sales growth across the business slowed from the first quarter to the second quarter.

Continued sales growth, combined with improved gross margins, resulted in strong earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) gain of 14 per cent to $479.2 million.

Net profit after tax for the December half is tipped to be up 14.6 per cent to $329.9 million compared with $287.9 million a year ago.

Mr Smart declined to add further outlook commentary when contacted, but last October flagged continuing pressure on household budgets, and noted the $5.1 billion retailer will be cycling some significant sales from last year driven by COVID-19. He was anticipating the second half of the financial year would be “a bit more challenging than the first half”.

Despite the positive news initially sending JB shares higher, they ended Tuesday down 42¢ to $46.68 each.

Milford Asset Management portfolio manager Roland Houghton said both JB and Super Retail updates, along with other industry feedback, suggests the consumer remained resilient despite the headwinds of higher prices and rate hikes.

He said this earnings season should be reasonably solid for the retailers, but it would be very company-specific, and companies that had managed inventory well and promoted effectively in the key sales periods of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Boxing Day would be the top performers.

“Those which have brand strength will be critical. I think from a nominal perspective we should see reasonably good revenue numbers, but the real unknown is around the margins,” he said in an interview.

Mr Houghton warned there was still much more to wash though the system with inflationary pressures still persisting, and questioned whether consumption would be sustained as fixed-rate mortgages rolled over and in the face of rising living costs.

“We’re particularly cognisant of the hiking cycle that is still not over, and it’s still not yet in the daily P&L of the consumer because we haven’t had fixed rates come off, and even the December rate hike isn’t going to flow through to your mortgage until March,” he said.

Consensus upgrades

E&P Financial group analyst Phil Kimber said he expected consensus upgrades of about 15 per cent – broadly similar to JB’s share price increase since January 1.

Mr Kimber said that when JB releases half-year audited statutory results on February 13, the focus will be on earnings composition (in particular GP margins and sustainability) as well as trading in January and February.

He still kept his negative recommendation, believing calendar 2023 would be significantly tougher than last year given the rising cost of living and the reallocation of spending away from goods to services.

“We therefore expect material earnings declines (vs prior corresponding period) to commence in 2H23 and into FY24,” he said in a note.

Grill’d founder Simon Crowe is confident the premium burger chain will scoop up price-conscious customers who choose to trade down from more expensive restaurants as they tighten their spending.

Crowe said Grill’d was an “aspirational and premium” brand but also affordable for diners seeking to reduce their discretionary spending as they adjust to rising interest rates and high inflation.

“We obviously don’t want for people to be doing it tougher out there, but in an economic environment that becomes challenging, Grill’d is actually better placed than anybody,” Crowe told this masthead.

He pointed to the global financial crisis, during which he said the burger chain saw a “significant uplift in volumes”.

“We see people who decide to tighten their belts a little migrate from premium casual dining to fresh or fast casual dining, exactly where our brand sits ... We gain a net influx of guests coming to us from above because they still want quality and service, but they want more affordability, and we provide all of those.”

Grill’d’s range starts at $12.50 and increases to $16.90 for a single burger. A ‘snack’-sized side of chips and a 600ml Pepsi Max would bring the meal to $21.90 for the cheapest burger.

The burger chain was among several foodservice brands that raised their prices last year amid mounting supply chain pressure and rising ingredient costs, but Crowe said he was not expecting to pass through any further price increases to customers in 2023.

“A lot of the pricing pressure in the supply chain have already been brought to the fore, and I don’t expect there to be significant pressure going forward.”

Crowe also owns premium chocolate brand Koko Black, which he said had just seen off the “strongest Christmas we’ve ever had”. Like Grill’d, the business owner is similarly unconcerned that cost-of-living pressures will stop Australians reaching for sweet treats.

“The macro environment or economic challenges won’t be disruptive to those businesses that are focused on long-term brand building and product quality,” he said.

Grill’d last week launched its Gamechanger burger patty made from black angus cattle that produce 67 per cent less methane, a sustainability-driven initiative that Crowe said took lessons learned from the short-lived conversion of two high-performing stores into plant-based-only restaurants. Grill’d Surry Hills and Collingwood were temporary renamed ‘Impossibly Grill’d’ and served a full plant-based menu for just 21 days before fierce customer pushback reinstated the original menus.

The Gamechanger patty was a partnership with Sea Forest, a Tasmanian producer of asparagopsis, an edible red seaweed that, when fed to cattle, results in the animals producing less methane. Customers pay $1 to swap their patty, which is offered at 61 Grill’d stores in a national network of 160.

The initiative has cost the burger chain $2 million. The take-up of the new patty has outstripped demand so far, said Crowe, who was looking to prove that demand existed for more sustainable options.

“We know that the dollar is at least what it will cost us. We’re trying not to put more costs in because we want to make the hurdle for consumers to jump as low as possible,” he said.

“The step change for us is enormous and we’re happy to do it. But yes, it needs to be the demand remains high.”

Despite inflationary pressures and rising living costs, retail spending increased 1.7 per cent in December, according to the Mastercard SpendingPulse report, released by the Australian Retailers Association.

Consumers spending on apparel rose by 6.7 per cent, on groceries by 6.6 per cent, lodging 4.1 per cent, electronics 3.5 per cent, jewellery 2 per cent, and at restaurants by 1.8 per cent last month.

Year-on-year sales were down for fuel and convenience at 4.1 per cent and home furnishings at 2.4 per cent.

ARA CEO Paul Zahra welcomed the figures and said achieving spending growth in December was “encouraging” for retailers.

“These December results are a testament to the resilience of the retail industry and set a good foundation as we anticipate a period of uncertainty this year with inflationary pressures and the rising cost of living,” he said.

Although Zahra flagged inflation as a factor in the increased sales, he forecast a “challenging environment” for businesses as rising operating costs will tighten margins moving forward.

Walt Disney boss Bob Iger announced plans for a dramatic restructuring of the world’s largest entertainment company that includes cutting 7000 jobs and $US5.5 billion ($7.9 billion) in cost savings.

The reductions include lower spending on programming and $US2.5 billion in non-content related cuts. About $US1 billion of the savings are already underway, Iger said on a conference call with investors on Wednesday. The job cuts amount to about 3 per cent of Disney’s global workforce.

As part of the change, Disney’s CEO also announced that the company will be reorganised into three divisions: an entertainment unit that includes its main TV and film businesses, the ESPN sports networks, and the theme-park unit, which includes cruise ships and consumer products.

The reorganisation is intended to improve profit margins, Iger said, and represents his third major transformation of the business following efforts to beef up its film franchises through acquisitions and the development of its online business.

Iger, who returned to the lead the company in November after his successor Bob Chapek was fired, has been under pressure to improve results. Activist investor Nelson Peltz is seeking a board seat at the April 3 annual meeting, arguing in part that Disney shares have underperformed and the company needs better cost controls.

Earlier on Wednesday, Disney announced upbeat financial results, led by big gains at its theme parks.

Profit came to 99 US cents a share in the period ended December. 31, Disney said, above the 74-US-cent average of analysts’ estimates. Revenue grew 7.8 per cent to $US23.5 billion, slightly above projections.

Subscribers to the Disney+ streaming business declined 1 per cent in the quarter to 161.8 million, the first such decline, amid cancellations of the Hotstar service in India after Disney lost streaming rights to cricket there.

Losses in the streaming business more than doubled to $US1.05 billion from a year earlier, but that was better than management had forecast three months ago.

“The work we are doing to reshape our company around creativity, while reducing expenses, will lead to sustained growth and profitability for our streaming business, better position us to weather future disruption and global economic challenges, and deliver value for our shareholders,” Iger said in a statement.

Outsized losses in streaming contributed to the ouster of Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek late last year and the return of Iger, who led the company from 2005 to 2020. The Burbank, California-based entertainment giant is seeking to achieve profitability in its streaming division next year and fend off Peltz, who holds a stake worth about $US1 billion.

After years of focusing on subscriber growth in streaming, Wall Street’s attention in recent months has turned to when the media industry’s staggering investments in online film and TV shows will begin earning a return.

To help counter the losses in streaming, Iger is considering licensing more of Disney’s films and TV series to rivals after years of keeping the vast majority of the titles exclusive to its own platforms.

Disney’s parks continued to shine, with revenue in that division increasing 21 per cent to $US8.74 billion and earnings climbing 25 per cent to $US3.05 billion. The results included sales and earnings from consumer products that were little changed.

Revenue from Disney’s traditional broadcast and cable TV business, such as ESPN, fell 5 per cent to $US7.29 billion, while operating income slumped 16 per cent to $US1.26 billion, hurt by weakness outside the US.

Michael Hill International Limited has reported double-digit sales growth for the first half of FY23 across its international portfolio.

Group sales were up 11.7% on last year to $363.3 million, and 14.5% on FY21 - with seven fewer stores.

Its Australian segment revenue grew by 18% on last year and 8.8% on FY21, with its New Zealand segment growing by 13.8% on last year and by 10% on FY21.

Michael Hill’s Canada portfolio grew revenue by 0.5% on last year, and by 25% on FY21.

Michael Hill CEO and MD Daniel Bracken welcomed the result, saying the company was comping a record second quarter last year.

“This year, while the first quarter results were cycling store closures, the delivery of 4% growth in Q2 was outstanding, underpinned by yet another strong Christmas execution,” Bracken said.

“The first half sales of $363m represent a new record, up $30m on the previous best half in FY20, even with 22 fewer stores.

“While record sales were a highlight, equally pleasing was our ability to maintain elevated margins despite significant input cost pressures and increased promotional activity in the market.

“Considering Canada had a record first half last year, this year’s result still delivered growth, and represents 26% growth on two years ago.”

Meanwhile, the company reported a decline in digital sales of 9% on last year, however they were still up 30% on H1 FY21.

It also announced a successful transition to its new state-of-the-art global headquarters in Brisbane, which houses the global leadership team and functions, a high-tech distribution centre and a reimagined artisanal jewellery workshop.

Australian families are feeling financial stress as they work their way through back-to-school shopping lists, but Officeworks boss Sarah Hunter says consumers are also joyful at the thought of a year of learning without COVID-19 interruptions.

“This is the first year we are all so hopeful our children will have a completely ‘as normal as it can be’ full year of school,” the chief executive of the Wesfarmers-owned office supplies store said.

The prospect of a school year sans-COVID disruptions is driving families into stores to choose all-important items like pencil cases, lunchboxes and drink bottles together.

“We are seeing a lot of parents come into store and want to have that experience with their children,” Hunter said.

This week is one of the most important trading opportunities of the year for retailers focused on education essentials, and there is significant spending to be captured. Finder figures for 2023 put the price of a full set of school supplies, including stationery, textbooks and uniforms, at $571 for primary school students and $771 for secondary students annually.

Despite the excitement about a new year of in-classroom learning, merchants must strike a difficult balance this year on the price of materials, given households are absorbing several months of rising interest rates and soaring inflation, which hit 7.3 per cent for the 12 months to November.

The cost of education increased by 4.6 per cent compared with the 12 months to November 2021, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures. Meanwhile, this masthead reported last week that Victorian families are facing debt collection services for unpaid private school fees as even wealthier households start to feel the pinch. 

A UBS consumer survey for the last month of 2022 shows inflation is most affecting income earners on less than $48,000 a year, with this cohort expecting their income to contract further over the next year.

At the same time, book lists are featuring more technology requirements than ever. Beyond standard exercise books, glue sticks and highlighters, students need increasingly sophisticated headphones, laptops and tablets.

Then there are bento boxes for lunchtime and art supplies. Even the staple musical instrument of primary school, the recorder, is still a part of the return to school – Officeworks has sold close to 10,000 recorders during this financial year.

That’s making price guarantees more important, with Hunter saying Officeworks’ promise to beat the price of school goods at other retailers by 20 per cent is drawing in shoppers.

“There is certainly financial pressure, absolutely – which is why they come somewhere where they trust,” she said.

That includes a focus on low-cost basics, with many of its most popular home brand products including glue sticks, exercise books, drink bottles and pencil cases coming it at less than a dollar.

Competition for household back-to-school spend is growing, however, with players like Amazon expanding its range over the past two years. This is also a major trading period for kids stationery brand Smiggle, which reported $261.2 million in sales last year.

After a few years of remote learning, the importance of adding individualised touches to school gear is growing, Hunter said.

“One of the interesting trends we’ve started to see more of is personalisation.”

That’s one area where Officeworks is hoping to capitalise with budget-friendly options for kids to order monogrammed pencil cases, drink bottles and bag tags through the group’s printing business.

“What Smiggle and Amazon don’t do is ‘personalised by you’. That’s where we see a really big opportunity,” Hunter said.

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has commenced legal proceedings in the Federal Court against Super Retail Group (SUL) and four subsidiary companies, alleging underpayments.

Super Retail Group’s subsidiaries include Rebel Sports, Super Cheap Auto, SRG Leisure Retail trading as BCF and Ray’s Outdoors and Macpac Retail.

Between January 2017 and March 2019, it is alleged that employees were underpaid a total of approximately $1.14 million for their work.

Underpayments of individual sample employees ranged from small amounts to about $34,500 during this timeframe. The workers were responsible for store management, setting up stores, retail and administration.

The case came to light after the company self-reported “widespread” underpayments to the FWO and the Australian Securities Exchange in 2018.

The regulator has alleged that most of the underpayments were a result of subsidiary companies paying salaried employees annual salaries that “failed” to cover their minimum lawful entitlements.

Fair Work Ombudsman, Sandra Parker, said keeping large corporate sector employers “accountable” for any underpayments remained a “priority”.

“The breaches alleged in this case – inadequate annual salaries for employees stretching across multiple years – have become a persistent issue for businesses across many industries,

“Every employer should be clear that if annual salaries do not cover all minimum lawful entitlements for all hours actually worked, the results can be substantial back-payment bills, plus the risk of significant court-ordered penalties. Penalties can also be higher for serious contraventions.”

The company has also “failed to pay all entitlements” owed for hours worked while overtime entitlements, weekend and public holiday penalty rates were underpaid.

FWO is seeking penalties against Super Retail Group and its four subsidiaries — about $63,000 per breach while the holding company will be fined $63,000 for liability-related penalties.

In an ASX statement, Super Retail Group MD and CEO, Anthony Heraghty, said: “We note the allegations in the proceedings and reiterate our view that this matter represents a regrettable chapter in our company’s history.

“It is unacceptable and contrary to the company’s values for any team member not to be paid correctly. We are sorry for the impact on our team members and today we restate our unreserved apology to each person affected.”

The company said a comprehensive back payment program for affected team members has been undertaken with the assistance of external advisers.