Country Road chairman Simon Susman has announced he expects the 2012 trading environment to remain challenging, despite opportunities for further growth.
The retailer, which today released results for the four months to October 29, reported a 4.9 per cent drop in comparable Australian sales against the same period last year. Total sales for the period were also down 0.7 per cent.
Speaking to shareholders, Susman said that while there are plans to expand and improve the Country Road business, he expects difficult trading conditions to continue throughout the Christmas season.
“The retail outlook remains challenging and our expectations on sales remain conservative, [but] we are committed to improving the returns of our core business,” he said.
“We will increase our customer base for both brands [Country Road and Trenery] and continue to reward our customers by providing them with expanded ranges of improved product. We will invest in limited new stores and increase investment in existing stores. Our online store has also been successful and we see this as a key growth opportunity moving forward.”