As it did in the closing months of 2019-20 with a surge in sales from stuck home customers, JB Hi-Fi says it has seen more of the same so far in 2020-21.
The leading electronics, whitegoods and housewares group says it has joined the ranks of retailers reporting strong first-quarter sales, thanks to the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a trading update yesterday, JB Hi-Fi said its total sales growth for its Australian stores jumped 27.3% for the three months ending September.
Comparable growth was 27.6%, even with 46 stores shut in metropolitan Melbourne.
Sales at its whitegoods retailing arm, The Good Guys did even better with a 30.9% jump in sales both on a headline and comparable store basis with 21 stores closed in Melbourne.
The company’s New Zealand division has continued to struggle however and sales fell 2.5% for the period.
Investors ignored the good news and sold off the shares as the wider market slumped on fears about the fallout from the new waves of the pandemic sweeping Europe and the US.
The shares ended down 6.18% at $47.38. The shares are down 10% from the all-time high of $52.77 reached on October 14. That’s correction territory.
Part of that could be a feeling that the company did see a slowing in sales growth towards the end of the quarter.
And with its Melbourne stores now reopened the company says it will not be providing any sales guidance for the 2020-21 financial year due to ongoing COVID uncertainty.
That was a surprise.
“We are pleased to report very strong comparable sales growth in Australia, even with our metropolitan Melbourne stores temporarily closed to customers during this period,” CEO Richard Murray said in the update ahead of the company’s AGM.
“Our online businesses have continued to scale and meet the needs of our customers in a period where restrictions have impacted their ability to visit our stores.”
“This online growth combined with continued sales momentum in stores across the rest of Australia, has resulted in a strong start to FY21 and positions us well as we enter the key Christmas trading period.”
