Pharmacy, health and beauty retailer Clicks yesterday reported a double-digit growth in retail sales in a trading update for the 20 weeks to January 15, despite the impact of load shedding that has knocked South African businesses.
The group’s retail sales – which includes Clicks and the franchise brands of The Body Shop and GNC and excluding Covid-19 vaccinations – increased by 12.2% in the first 20 weeks of the 2023 financial year to January, 15 2023 compared to the corresponding 20 weeks in the previous financial year.
Chief executive Bertina Engelbrecht said Clicks experienced good volume growth following robust Black Friday and Christmas trading, which translated into market share gains across all product categories.
“Clicks reported particularly strong growth in beauty, personal care and baby products with customers’ purchasing behaviour normalising post the relaxation of Covid-19 regulations,” she said.
Engelbrecht said the double-digit retail sales growth was achieved despite the significantly higher levels of load shedding, which impacted trading patterns, particularly in December and January.
“In this disrupted environment Clicks continued to focus on its strategic growth drivers of value, convenience and differentiation in response to the needs of our customers throughout our expanding store, pharmacy and online presence,” she said.
In the prior year corresponding 20-week period, Clicks generated R685 million from vaccinations compared to only R4m in the current period. Accordingly, total retail sales including vaccinations for the period increased by 5.5% compared to the prior year.
The group’s interim results for the six months to February 28, 2023 are expected to be released on about April 20.
BUSINESS REPORT