Best & Less lifts prices as annual profit drops 55pc

The retailer’s chief executive says some categories will not see a hike in a bid to attract customers seeking out value amid higher inflation and interest rates.

Best & Less Chairman Jason Murray and CEO Rodney Orrock.

Best & Less chief executive Rodney Orrock says the retailer will lift prices between 3 and 5 per cent to counter inflation but will keep some categories – such as children’s clothing – quarantined from rises to preserve the company’s value proposition to consumers.

Mr Orrock on Tuesday said he expected an increasing shift to consumers looking for value. That shift was already under way, Mr Orrock added.

“We will absolutely fight for our customer; we know that our customers are after great value at low prices – that is what Best & Less says above the door,” Mr Orrock said after the retailer posted an 8 per cent rise in revenue to $622.181m while net profit slumped 55.5 per cent to $36.11m.

“And as a consequence of that we know that there is price sensitivity across a number of different product lines that we sell, and that they (shoppers) expect us to hold those prices and we‘ve done that for a good 30 years without showing any inflation with our prices.”

Meanwhile, early trading for the financial year has shown improved sales, with total sales up 38 per cent for the first eight weeks of the new financial year and like for like sales up 1.4 per cent.

Store sales were up 7.5 per cent and online sales were down 29.1 per cent as the retailer cycles the massive boom in online shopping through lockdowns last year.

Best & Less declared a final dividend of 12c a share, payable on September 30. Shares rose 3 per cent to close at $2.70.