Chain retailer Country Road has reported a decline in sales for the Australasian market, joining fellow retailers Myer and David Jones.
In an update to market, ahead of audited results to be released next month, the brand announced that total sales had grown by 1.8 per cent on last year to $419 million.
However, Australasian sales decreased by 2.6 per cent with like-for-like sales down 6.6 per cent.
Commenting on the results, CEO Howard Goldberg said he was satisfied with the company's progress in light of the challenging retail environment.
“We have completed our first year of executing our new strategy. In the highly competitive retail environment, we have significantly reduced the level of discounting and have improved our margins as a result. We have also closed unprofitable stores, including a number of clearance stores,” he said.
“Our digital strategy is a growth area and online sales have grown strongly and exceeded our expectations. In the short term, we expect retail conditions to remain challenging and our outlook remains conservative.”
During the year, Country Road has opened two retail stores and one concession store in Australia and five stores in South Africa (two retail), but overall has also closed two retail stores, three clearance stores and eight concession stores.