In the UK, its retail sales declined by 12.9% to $0.27 billion, while online sales increased by 18.2%, making up 63% of the company’s retail sales
Retailer Truworths has said that the performance of its South African and UK stores was materially affected by the pandemic.
In a business update for the year ended 27 June 2021, the group said its retail sales increased by 0.5% to 17 billion, from 16.9 billion in 2020. Account sales were the biggest contributor, making up 52% of the transactions, up from 51%, while cash sales increased by 1.9%.
The company’s SA sales rose by 5.5% to 13 billion and its account sales rose by 2.8%, while its cash sales increased by 11.8%.
In the UK, its retail sales declined by 12.9% to $0.27 billion, while online sales increased by 18.2%, making up 63% of the company’s retail sales.
The group is in the process of finalising various material entries and the results for the current period are in the year-end external audit review. The group will provide an update on earnings for the current period when it has reasonable certainty in this regard, said Truworths.
In SA, Truworths is one of many businesses impacted by looting and unrest in parts of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, where it also manufacturers clothing. The group said 57 of its 758 stores have been directly and severely impacted.
Truworths said nearly 160 more of its shops have been indirectly affected by precautionary closures as the unrest continued. The company said it is too early to determine the full extent of the damage.
The retailer’s online stores are also experiencing disruption due to infrastructure damage and road transport risks in KwaZulu-Natal, as the group’s logistics provider is also affected by the unrest.
The group believes that it has adequate insurance cover to mitigate much of the losses of merchandise, the damage to its stores and loss of profits as a consequence of the inability to trade, it said.
