New Zealand-based clothing and outdoor retailer Kathmandu has reported a 31.6 per cent increase in total sales for the 13-week period ending May 1 2011.
The increase, when measured on a constant currency exchange rate, is a total rise of 29 per cent when compared against figures from the equivalent period ended May 2 2010.
Total same store sales for the third quarter also increased by 23.2 per cent on figures for the same period last year (20.7 per cent when measured on a constant currency basis). This contributes to a total rise of 23.1 per cent (20.7 per cent on a constant currency basis) for the retailer in sales for the year-to-date.
Kathmandu chief executive officer Peter Halkett attributed the results to a successful Easter sale promotion and said that while the retailer is on track to deliver strong overall year-on-year sales, he is aware of the challenges ahead.
“Our Easter sale promotion was helped by the very favourable weather, particularly in Australia, and also by the late timing of Easter weekend this year. Clearly, this has been a particularly good period for us, but it was in comparison to a relatively poor performance for the same period in 2010,” he said.
“Economic conditions and weather patterns remain key risks to our last quarter trading, and it must be remembered that the final three months in the financial year have historically generated approximately 390 per cent of earnings for the full year.”