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Clothing retailer suffers major profit tumble

Tina Morrison

Hallenstein Glasson’s annual profit fell 23% after Covid-19 lockdowns hurt trading at its clothing stores.

The retailer, which owns the Hallenstein Brothers and Glassons clothing chains, said profit in the year to August 1 fell to $25.6 million from $33.3m the previous year. That’s ahead of its forecast for profit of $23.9m to $24.9m.

Hallenstein Glasson lost 5432 trading days in the first half of the year as a result of Covid-19 lockdowns across New Zealand and Australia. Sales fell 6.2% in the first half but rebounded 6.6% in the second half when all the stores remained open, ending the year flat at $351.2m, the company said.

‘‘To achieve sales on par with the prior year was pleasing given the numerous challenges faced in the year,’’ said chief executive Stuart Duncan.

The trading environment remained difficult in the second half as Omicron surges impacted staffing and customers shopping habits, particularly in the New Zealand market, he said.

Glassons New Zealand sales fell 13% to $104.4m, with profit down 65% to $4.1m. In Australia, Glassons sales rose 17% to $156.9m, with profit up 16% to $19.1m.

At Hallenstein Brothers, sales across both countries slipped 7.5% to $89.9m, while profit fell 57% to $2.1m.

Online sales across the group increased 16%, particularly when stores were closed, Duncan said. They now account for 27.88% of total sales, up from 24.04% in the prior year.

Business

en-nz

2022-10-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-10-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/282432763035419

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