Big W is struggling to grow store sales despite a lift in online sales store sales have fallen with profits crashing 68.2%.
The big discount retailer who saw the resignation of their marketing director and CEO last month said that sales fell in FY 22 3.3% to $4.43 billion while profits fell 68.2%.
Also down by 2.4% was sales per square metre. Gross margin was up 28 basic points from 29.9% to 32.1%.
This was due in part to pressure being put on suppliers to deliver higher margins.
The Company said that “Despite a first half where many BIG W stores were closed for an extended period due to COVID restrictions, BIG W maintained strong customer scores throughout the year. Growth recovered strongly in H2 with Q4 sales growth of 11.9%.
F22 EBIT of $55 million was 68.2% below the prior year largely reflecting the challenges in H1, with H2 EBIT of $30 million exceeding H1 EBIT of $25 million.
eCommerce sales growth remained strong in H2 at 17.6% but penetration moderated from the record penetration of 17.7% in H1 to 9.7% in H2 as more customers returned to shopping in store.
No announcement has been made on the replacement of Former Big W GM of marketing Kristen Linders who quit last month along with the resignation of Big W CEO Pejman Okhovat who announced he was quitting to take up a role in childcare.
