JB Hi-Fi hit by sales slowdown, but demand still stronger than expected

Electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi has reported slowing sales, but analysts say its results are stronger than expected as consumers face increasing pressure from interest rate rises.

The $4.9 billion retailer revealed on Wednesday that while quarterly sales were still well above pre-COVID levels at its stores in Australia and New Zealand and at whitegoods retailer The Good Guys, momentum slowed in the three months to March 31 compared with the same time last year.

Same-store sales at JB Hi-Fi Australia slipped by 0.1 per cent in the March quarter, the third quarter of its fiscal year. Sales at the Good Guys fell by 3.8 per cent compared with the same period in 2022.

Sales at the company’s New Zealand stores were up by 10.8 per cent.

For the year to date, sales are still up on last year, largely driven by a strong festive trading season. The group’s comparable Australian store sales are up by 5.8 per cent for the financial year so far, while New Zealand sales are up by 14.5 per cent and The Good Guys are 3.8 per cent stronger for the 2023 financial year so far.

“As anticipated, sales growth has started to moderate from the elevated levels seen in the first half of [the financial year], but the group’s trusted value-based offerings have continued to resonate with our customers and grown market share,” the company told investors.

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JB Hi-Fi’s Australian sales are up by 38.8 per cent since before the pandemic, and New Zealand’s are ahead by 30.1 per cent. The Good Guys is 22.4 per cent stronger compared with pre-COVID in 2019.

Retail trading figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released on Wednesday for the month of March showed that while consumers’ overall spending increased by 0.4 per cent, household goods spending fell by 0.4 per cent.