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· South African Durban based fashion and homeware retailer Mr Price has posted a 24.8% decline in headline earnings per share in the 26 weeks ended 26 September
· The decline was due to the impact of coronavirus pandemic. According to company sources, the retailer lost about R1.8 billion in sales in the month of April alone due to forced closure of all its
stores
· Significantly, during that period, there was 71.5% increase in online sales, though the e-commerce sales of the company were at a low base of 2.5% of total sales.
South African Durban based fashion and homeware retailer Mr Price has posted a 24.8% decline in headline earnings per share in the 26 weeks ended 26 September. The decline was due to the impact of coronavirus pandemic. According to company sources, the retailer lost about R1.8 billion in sales in the month of April alone due to forced closure of all its stores.
Significantly, during that period, there was 71.5% increase in online sales. However, the e-commerce sales of the company were at a low base of 2.5% of total sales. Though the sales picked up immediately after the strict lockdowns, growth was “flat” later indicating the extreme volatility in consumer purchasing behavior. One silver lining in its performance is the expectation of accelerated growth in the post-Covid-19 times although the restoration of footfalls to pre-Covid -19 days would take some more time.
Mr Price declared an interim dividend of 210.1 cents per share. It had concluded an agreement to acquire Power Fashion and the transaction will take place in April 2021.
