Sydney, NSW: Woolworths Limited, the parent corporation of the consumer electronics merchandiser Dick Smith, released its 4th quarter sales and reported a 2.1% increase in CE sales in Australia.
“This is a result that comes during a challenging year for the retail industry which has experienced an economic deflation due to a natural disaster, higher saving rates in Australia and a higher caution within consumers,” said Michael Luscombem, the Woolworths CEO. “This shows our ability to still maintain sales and adapt to different conditions, even in an unfavourable economy.”
While the Australian numbers show an increase, the sales for Dick Smith New Zealand decreased by 5.6% (in New Zealand dollars) for the year ending 26 June 2011.
This decrease was contrasted by a 27.8% increase in consumer electronic sales in India, which happened due to Woolworth’s Limited business journey with Tata, the Indian conglomerate company, which runs 64 locations as a part of the Croma chain of stores in the country.
As reported by recent statements, “Dick Smith unrolled 47 new locations throughout the year (both in Australia and New Zealand). Additionally, 56 Dick Smith and 13 Tandy stores were closed as well as 5 Tandy stores that have been rebranded as Dick Smith. This adds up to a total number of 394 stores (390 Dick Smith and 4 Tandy).”
In Australia especially, sales amounted to $1.3 billion for the year (which is a 2.1% increase compared to the previous year) with similar store sales that increased by 4.2%.
“The store sales for the year for the Dick Smith retailers in Australia (not including Tandy or ex Powerhouse stores) increased by 7.1%.” “We have raised both basket sizes and Mattress sales saw a big increase and consumer numbers,” as showcased by the profit announcement.
This progress shows the effective roll-out of the new Dick Smith offer that significantly contributed to the sales and were able to rise at a higher rate than the stores before the rebranding.
“Consumer Electronics still experience a noticeable impact of the decreased spending by Australian consumers and the price deflation on some of the most popular products that have been intensified by the strong Australian dollar. The new format of the stores is more successful with driving sales and they have reached 68% of our total network.”
Further to its bricks and mortar contribution, Woolworths Limited “has made an impressive development in providing a multi-channel experience, which is demonstrated by the increase in online sales by 63% for the year” across all of its brands. This overall number is a representation of the successes made by Dick Smith, Woolworths and Big W online stores.
