Briscoe Group sales edge up during first quarter

(Source: Briscoes / Facebook)

Briscoe Group’s sales held steady in the trading quarter to the end of May, inching up 1.77 per cent against the same period a year earlier, when sales had soared 78 per cent after the relaxation of Covid-related lockdowns. 

However, group MD Rod Duke said this year’s first quarter represented a 16.97-per-cent increase against the pre-Covid era sales for the first quarter of 2019. 

By segment, homewares sales rose by 2.13 per cent to $106.8 million, while sports goods sales (through the Rebel business) rose by 1.21 per cent to $69.4 million. 

“A significant influence throughout this first quarter was the escalation of the Omicron outbreak and its impact on foot traffic to bricks and mortar stores,” said Duke. 

“The impact was particularly noticeable during February and March as the outbreak took hold and spread through the country.”

Some of the lost physical-store sales moved online, which represented 20.2 per cent of group sales for the period, compared with 15.4 per cent during the same period last year. 

“Notwithstanding this, we believe sales for the quarter could have been negatively impacted by up to $4 million as consumers took a cautious approach to visiting malls and shopping centres,” said Duke.

The company remains on track to “overachieve” last year’s full-year net profit after tax, but Duke said the composition between the first and second halves may differ from last year given the “significant impacts associated with store closures, supply chain disruptions and staff availability”.

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