With more Australians staying at home than ever before, retailers Bunnings and Officeworks have emerged as the major beneficiaries.
Sales growth at Bunnings is up 19.2 per cent in the second half of the financial year compared with 5.8 per cent in the first half, according to parent company Wesfarmers.
“In Bunnings, the strong sales performance is supported by continued growth in consumer and commercial markets across all major Australian trading regions and in all product categories,” said Wesfarmers in an update to the ASX.
The company also revealed it had invested $20 million into additional cleaning, security and protective equipment in recent months, while it will also incur costs of approximately $70 million in the 2020 financial year due to trading restrictions with New Zealand.
Officeworks, also owned by Wesfarmers, has also seen an increase in sales growth during the second half of the financial year.
Sales growth at the office supplies store is up 27.8 per cent compared with 11.5 per cent during the first half of 2019/2020.
“In Officeworks, strong sales growth is supported by continued demand for technology, home office furniture and learning and education products,” said Wesfarmers.
Also under the Wesfarmers umbrella, Kmart and Target have seen improved results in recent weeks, as customers return to shopping centres, although weekly sales performance remains “highly variable”.
In Kmart, there has been significant growth in categories such as home and living ranges.
Wesfarmer’s ecommerce outlet Catch had the strongest growth, with online sales up 89 per cent.
