IT'S not Christmas yet but Brisbane retailer Super Cheap Auto Group Limited (SUL) has recorded 17 per cent year-on-year growth for the last six weeks, with plans to open more than 30 new stores across its brands over FY2011.
Managing director Peter Birtles (pictured) highlighted marginal like-for-like sales growth and could not give an indication for expected Christmas sales in his AGM speech today
“In the same period, Supercheap Auto and BCF Boating Camping Fishing have grown like for like sales by circa 3 per cent. This is a pleasing level of performance given the boost that the government stimulus provided to sales in the prior comparative period,” he says.
“We expect that the general outlook for retail trading will remain uncertain in the lead up to Christmas but we expect that increasing confidence will start to drive retail spending in the second half of the coming year.
“We expect to open between 10 and 15 new stores in the Auto and Cycle Retailing division and around 20 stores in the Leisure Retailing division during the financial year. We also expect to refurbish another 30 Supercheap Auto stores.”
The company has opened two new Ray’s Outdoors stores in the last month and expects to open another four or five before Christmas.
SUL shares fell by 1 per cent to $6.60 this morning.
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