Myer executive chair Olivia Wirth says it has had an “encouraging start” to the financial year, with sales up 3 per cent in the first 19 weeks as it achieves a record Black Friday period.
In her address at the company’s annual general meeting on Thursday, Ms Wirth said the performance was driven by strong sales growth in Myer retail, with total sales up 3.4 per cent.
Homewares, womenswear and concessions achieved double-digit sales growth.
“Pleasingly, we also had a strong lead up to Black Friday for Myer retail, achieving our biggest Black Friday sales performance on record,” Ms Wirth said.
“As you know, we are in a very important sales period with seven weeks in the peak trading period still to go, which includes the lead-up to Christmas and Boxing Day sales.”
Ms Wirth said Solomon Lew — Myer’s biggest shareholder — would join the board in April after Myer fully completes the acquisition of Just Jeans, Portmans, Dotti, Jay Jays and Jacqui E, collectively known as Apparel Brands, acquired from his company Premier Investments.
Total sales for Apparel Brands are up 1.3 per cent in the first 19 weeks, driven by improving performance in Just Jeans
Myer shares were up 9.8 per cent to 45¢ in early trade.
More to come.
