David Jones, Country Road post a strong sales trajectory for the six months to Christmas

David Jones' soon-to-be former owner says the department store chain’s sales were on the rise for the six months to Christmas.

David Jones and its former stablemate fashion house, Country Road Group, continued a strong sales momentum through to Christmas, notwithstanding elevated inflationary pressures squeezing consumer spending, according to South African retailer Woolworths Holdings.

David Jones’ capital city CBD stores, which were badly affected during Covid-19 lockdowns, traded above expectations, Woolworths Holdings has revealed.

The upbeat sales performance in the six months to Christmas bodes well for the fashion and apparel sector, and in particular department store rival Myer.

It could also be a sign of a strong performance by the retail sector when companies begin releasing their latest results in the upcoming profit season.

In a trading update to the Johannesburg stock market, Woolworths Holdings also confirmed its planned sale of David Jones to private equity firm Anchorage Capital, announced last month, was on track to be finalised by the end of March.

Woolworths Holdings is believed to have agreed to sell David Jones – but keep hold of its flagship store in Melbourne – for about $100m. The South African retailer said on Thursday the final sale price agreed with Anchorage would be determined on completion of its latest financial accounts.

Woolworths Holdings repeated its belief, first stated when the Anchorage deal was announced in December, that the final sale price of the upmarket department store David Jones would be in excess of the carrying value of the David Jones assets on its books.

Meanwhile, in its trading update for the 26 weeks to December 25 issued late on Thursday, Woolworths Holdings said David Jones’ turnover and concession sales increased by 31.8 per cent, and by 27.6 per cent on a comparable store basis, and its flagship and CBD stores performed ahead of expectations.

Sales in the past six weeks grew by 2.3 per cent. The company said trading space reduced by 3.6 per cent relative to the prior period.

David Jones’ online sales contributed 17.2 per cent of total sales, compared with 28.1 per cent for the previous period as lockdowns ended and shoppers returned to physical stores rather than being forced to shop online.

At Country Road Group – which covers fashion brands Country Road, Trenery, Witchery, Mimco and Politix – sales grew by 25.5 per cent and by 26.6 per cent in comparable stores, underpinned by strong performances from the Country Road, Politix and Witchery brands in particular.

The last six weeks of trade, which are comparable to that of the previous period, Country Road Group delivered strong sales growth of 8.5 per cent. Space was reduced by 5.5 per cent during the period. Online sales contributed 26.1 per cent to total sales, compared to 33.8 per cent for the prior period.

It comes as Woolworths Holdings on Wednesday revealed that it would once again open concession stores within Myer for its Country Road Group fashion and apparel brands after removing them from the department store five years ago.