Home fragrance retailer Dusk Group says it has delivered a “solid” result in its December half despite what it describes as a challenging trading environment.
For the 26 weeks to January 1, sales grew 7.6 per cent to $86.1 million despite the company recording a 29 per cent decline in foot traffic during peak Christmas trading.
Online sales fell 37.8 per cent to $4.8 million and represented 5.6 per cent of total revenue.
Lower sales online and of high-value items resulted in a decline of the average transaction value (ATV) by 5.7 per cent to $54 million.
Outgoing group CEO and MD, Peter King, said: “Channel mix normalisation continued with the increase in brick-and-mortar sales more than offsetting the online decline, demonstrating once again the strength of our model.”
He added the performance of the three trial stores and website in New Zealand was in line with expectations and will be continued moving forward.
The company plans to open six new stores in Australia and New Zealand during the second half of this year. It is also actively looking to recruit a new CEO.
