Shaver Shop interim profit drops amid Covid woes, but online sales soar and dividend is up

Aussies snap up massage equipment, powered toothbrushes and long-term hair removal products during the pandemic, according to retailer Shaver Shop.

Shaver Shop CEO Cameron Fox believes sales of hair care products will return as people get back to the office. Picture: Ian Currie

The Covid-19 pandemic has not only affected the way people shop and where they go, but has also had an influence on their purchase of hair care products as they look after personal grooming and hair removal through the pandemic, lockdowns and working from home.

National retailer Shaver Shop witnessed a shift to massage, powered toothbrushes and long-term hair removal products in the last six months of 2021 as some shoppers transitioned from buying hair-cutting products such as clippers.

In the first year of the pandemic and lockdowns, with beauty salons and hairdressers closed there was a boom in the sale of home clippers, while many men grew their beards to discard some shaving products.

However, demand for shaving products is expected to return as offices reopen across Australia and New Zealand over the six-month period to December and men feel the need to neaten up their appearances as they go back to work.

Shaver Shop said strong sales of hair-cutting products during extended lockdowns in the first quarter of the 2022 fiscal year had transitioned increasingly to long-term hair removal, massage and oral care by the second quarter.

Hair-cutting products remain the strongest sales category for the chain, attracting 35 per cent of sales, as people locked at home or in isolation keep away from hairdressers and salons to do it themselves.

Shaver Shop on Monday posted an 8.6 per cent slide in interim net profit to about $14.3m as its earnings were dented by mandated store closures due to Covid-19 and weaker margins due to a rise in sales of lower-margin products.

Despite the sharp profit drop, the group increased its interim dividend by nearly 41 per cent to 4.5c a share, payable to shareholders on March 31. The interim dividend is up 114 per cent over the last two years.

Interim sales were up 2.8 per cent at $123.6m following the closure of Shaver Shop’s Victorian and NSW store networks from July through to October, due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Online sales jumped 37 per cent to $51.6m, representing almost 41 per cent of total sales.

Shares in Shaver Shop ended up 1.5c at $1.16.