Big W has cited a cooler summer and rising Omicron cases for a slow start to the year.
In its latest trading update, the company reported a 3.5% fall in total sales to $989 million for the 13 weeks to April 3.
Comparable sales declined by 3.4% but two-year and three-year average comparable sales growth remained strong, increasing by 8.3% and 8.8% respectively.
Trading was impacted in the beginning of the quarter by increased Omicron community transmission and decreased customer mobility, with January transactions down in the double-digits.
Sales momentum improved through the quarter with increasing transactions in February and March.
By category, there was a marginal shift to 'Everyday & Home' from 'Apparel' with the impact of cooler weather over summer resulting in slower sell-through with higher clearance of summer apparel lines.
As customer mobility returned, BIG W’s eCommerce sales growth also moderated through the quarter.
eCommerce sales increased by 21.2% to $93 million with penetration of 9.4%, up 190 bps on the prior year but below the record levels achieved in H1.
BIG W’s store network was unchanged at 176 stores.
Parent company Woolworths Group reported challenging conditions across its retail portfolio, with CEO Brad Banducci citing post-pandemic hurdles.
“The continued impact of Omicron as well as widespread flooding has resulted in another challenging quarter for our business and the communities we serve.
"Despite the unfailing efforts of our teams, high levels of COVID-related team absenteeism and the disruption to our broader supply chain resulted in inconsistent customer shopping experiences and negatively impacted our customer metrics.
"Pleasingly, in recent weeks, we have begun to see more stability across the Group but store stock service levels remain below normal levels.
“For the remainder of the second half, we are focused on returning to a more stable operating rhythm and delivering consistently good shopping experiences for our customers.
"Despite the continued business disruption, direct COVID costs have continued to moderate (0.4% of sales in Q3) as we carefully look to reduce costs in areas where no longer required. Our mix of COVID costs has shifted with lower costs on the Eastern Seaboard and higher costs in New Zealand and Western Australia."