Betta boss reports upswing, predicts a strong Christmas“We have seen a modest uplift since the election,” Graeme Cunningham CEO Betta told CN.
“We believe the run up to Christmas will be quite strong , with latest technology products proving popular. UHD TV is doing well and is creating a lot of interest with consumers.”
But Cunningham is not the only retailer with positive predictions for Christmas.
As JB Hi-Fi report sales growth of 8.1% for the September quarter (Q1), it too is “on track” to hit FY 14 targets, says Marketing Manager Scott Browning, referring to 6-8% sales growth forecast, flagged at the company’s AGM last week.
But with Christmas trading its always hard to be certain, he says. Consumer demand this holiday period will centre on tablets, gaming consoles like PS4, Xbox One and headphones.
JB expects the retail market to remain competitive in the lead up to the “critical” Christmas trading period, but remains “confident” of its ability to maximise the trading period, CEO Terry Smart said last week.
Speaking to CN, Browning said he’d “like to see growth in online continue”, as JB’s Internet sales jumped 30% in FY13. JB website traffic is still increasing, with 1.15 million consumers browsing the online store every week.
Internet retail “will grow as lot faster than other channel, that for sure,” he says. JB Hi-Fi websales, standing at 2% of total sales, are bigger than other retailers but conversion rates are high.
Unique website visitors were also up 24%.
ABS is set to announce retail stats for September later today.
