WELLINGTON - Discount chain The Warehouse says its same-store sales in the April quarter were 12.4 per cent ahead of the April quarter last year.
Total unaudited third-quarter sales were $232.2 million, up 17 per cent ($33.7 million) on the corresponding quarter last year.
Year-to-date sales for the nine months were $833
million ($120 million) or 16.8 per cent above the $713 million achieved in the same period last year.
"We've been pleased with the high level of sales growth in the quarter, despite a tightening retail environment," says managing director Stephen Tindall.
"Rising interest rates and higher petrol prices have meant that we have had to work harder for our sales."
Retail stores recorded unaudited sales for the quarter of $215 million, up 15.6 per cent. Same-store retail sales were up 12.1 per cent.
The retail chain consisted of 69 stores representing 250,846 sq m of retail space (an increase of 5 per cent over April last year).
While there was no net addition to retail space in the quarter, The Warehouse expects to add 35,000 sq m of retail selling space (or a 14 per cent increase) by Christmas. Weighted average sales per square metre for the 12 months to April 30 were $4030, up from $3681 in the 1999 period.
Since February 1, the company has sold and leased back the Albany store for $10.3 million.
Warehouse Stationery had sales of $17.2 million in the April quarter, up 38 per cent.
Warehouse Stationery operates 23 stores. Retail selling space at the end of April was 27,031 square metres, up 34 per cent on April last year.
Warehouse Stationery plans to open one new store by the end of July. Same-store sales for the quarter were 21 per cent ahead of the same quarter last year.
The company said it sold more than 33,000 prepaid mobile phones in the quarter.
Since it began selling mobile phones in May last year, The Warehouse has sold over 145,000 cellular phones. Handset sales have not been included in the trading sales disclosed in the above sales figures.
- NZPA
