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The latest financial data from retailer Woolworths shows remarkable online growth in South Africa for both the food and fashion segments.<\/p>\n
The group on Tuesday (26 July) pushed out a trading statement showing a marginal (1.4%) increase in turnover and concession sales for the 52 weeks ended 26 June 2022, and 2.6% in constant currency terms.\u00a0 Audited group results for the 52 weeks ended 27 June 2021, showed turnover and concession sales amounted to R85.9 billion.<\/p>\n
Online sales in the current reporting period grew by 16.4%, contributing 12.4% to the group’s total turnover and concession sales over the year.<\/p>\n
Woolworths noted that trade during the first half of the year was severely impacted by the extended lockdowns in Australia, and to a lesser extent by the civil unrest in South Africa, “which makes the full-year trading result non-comparable to that of the prior year”.<\/p>\n
Trade during the second half showed an improved run rate across all businesses, with group turnover and concession sales growing by 4.9%, and 5.6% in constant currency terms, respectively, despite the impact of load shedding on the group’s operations in South Africa.<\/p>\n
For its South Africa operations with fashion, beauty, and home accounting for 267 store locations, and food – 452 stores – Woolworths said that its FBH business grew second half turnover and concession sales by 6.5%, with full-priced sales growing by 8.8%, supported by new winter ranges, ‘market share gains in our must win categories’, and a stronger performance from the rest of Africa.<\/p>\n
Sales for the full year grew by 5.4% and 7.3% in comparable stores, while trading space declined by 4.5%, supporting a double-digit increase in trading densities. Price movement averaged 6.0% over the full year and remains positively impacted by reduced markdown, Woolworths said.<\/p>\n
Online sales, it said, grew by 13.2% and contributed 4.4% to South African sales. This was up from a year ago report for the 52 weeks to 27 June 2021 showing that online beauty sales grew by 114.4%, contributing 4.1% to overall sales.<\/p>\n
Woolworths food division grew turnover and concession sales in the second half by 4.6%, with trading momentum improving throughout the period as Covid base effects eased.<\/p>\n
Sales for the full year grew by 4.2%, and by 3.1% in comparable stores, “reflecting the impact of the high base and the return to out-of-home consumption, an increasingly competitive backdrop and low product inflation across key categories”.<\/p>\n
Price movement averaged 3.5% for the full year, with underlying product inflation contained to 3.9%, as a result of continued price investment. Space grew by 1.8% relative to the prior year.<\/p>\n
Online sales, it said, increased by 45.4%, contributing 3.2% of South African sales, “driven by the continued rollout of our on-demand online offering”. In the year-ago reporting period, online food sales grew by 117.9%, contributing 2.3% to local food sales.<\/p>\n
Woolies Dash is the group’s delivery service available to customers who are within 5km of the store from which the service operates, with all deliveries charged at R35.<\/p>\n