David Jones saw a 2.3 per cent increase in sales over the last six weeks of 2022, a good omen for the department store giant’s new owners.
South Africa’s Woolworths Holdings announced overnight that half-year sales (in the 26 weeks ended December 25) jumped a massive 31 per cent, as foot traffic returned to the CBD locations.
In turn, online sales shrank as shoppers got back into the physical stores, dropping from the 28.1 per cent for the same period in 2021 to just 17.2 per cent.
Same store sales were up 27.6 per cent for the half.
Woolworths CEO Roy Bagattini warned, however, that the sales surge is measured against a period when a number of lockdown restrictions were still in play.
The soon-to-be-former owners have sealed a A$100 million sale to Anchorage, which is expected to be finalised by March.
“As predicted, Christmas came late”, a David Jones spokesperson said.
