Major Retailers Report Slow March Quarter

Both Myer and David Jones reported sales declines in the March quarter yesterday. David Jones was down 1.3% but said it would still maintain its profit forecast for the full year. Myer reported a 3.1% decline in same store sales for the quarter.
These reports were consistent with the overall retail data which showed minimal growth for the retail industry. The Reserve Bank expects that consumer savings will remain at a high 9-10% for the rest of this calendar year.
David Jones reported that their better performing categories were contemporary womenswear, accessories, menswear and childrenswear. Myer reported that they were exiting whitegoods and revamping their music business. Their sales performance, excluding electricals, was described as "pleasing".