The Warehouse Group has reported a solid sales performance across all its brands for the first quarter.
Group sales were $589.4 million for the quarter ending October 26, 2014.
The Warehouse Red Sheds had an increase of 1.3 per cent ($4.7 million) in sales compared with the same quarter last year.
Same store sales increased 1.2 per cent, with positive same store sales now recorded in 15 consecutive quarters.
The sales of $359.2 million were driven by successful launches of new season ranges in the home and leisure categories, with strong performance in the celebrations category, offset by lower sales in apparel.
The development of the Red Sheds as a digitally enabled multichannel retailer continued, increasing the alignment and integration of the online and instore experience with initiatives such as endless aisles.
Group CEO Mark Powell said that “it is pleasing to see the impact from a range of strategic initiatives such as new international technology and appliance brands, improved product quality, a critical mass of store refits and improved team training. This has brought former customers back to The Warehouse and has resulted in continued sales growth driven by increased transactions. While the challenge remains to translate this into increased operating profit, it provides the necessary platform from which to do that.”
Warehouse Stationery sales for the first quarter had an increase of 2.5 per cent ($1.4 million) compared with the same quarter last year.
Same store sales increased by 1.3 per cent, with positive same store sales now recorded in 21 consecutive quarters.
Noel Leeming sales for the first quarter had an increase of 2.9 per cent compared with the same quarter last year.
Sales were $143.2 million for the first quarter, with same store sales increasing by 0.5 per cent.
Torpedo7 Group sales for the first quarter were up 49.9 per cent compared with the same quarter last year, with reported sales of $28.7 million.
At the end of the quarter Torpedo7 and R&R Sport were combined under the brand Torpedo7, with the opening of two new stores in Auckland.
“In line with our strategic plan the quarter has seen continued investment in our existing businesses,” Mark Powell, group CEO said.
“This has again resulted in positive sales results across all our retail businesses in the quarter. However, while we have improved margins in Red Sheds, with a much cleaner exit of winter seasonal apparel than last year, we will also be absorbing budgeted one-off rebranding costs for both Torpedo7 and Noel Leeming in the quarter. We are confident this strategic focus will deliver long term results for our shareholders in a retail environment that is continuing to evolve to satisfy customers changing buying habits.”
