Woolworths Holdings Limited (WHL), the owner of Country Road Group (CRG), has provided a half-year trading update for the popular Australian fashion retail group.
WHL took full control of CRG, which comprises Country Road, Mimco, Trenery, Witchery and Politix, in 2014. After WHL sold David Jones in 2020, CRG became the company’s sole fashion division.
In the 26 weeks ending December 28, CRG saw sales increase by 2.3 per cent, with comparable-store sales up 2.5 per cent.
“Although trading conditions in Australia and New Zealand appear to be gradually improving, the retail sector remains challenging and highly promotionally driven,” WHL said.
Following a strong Black Friday and Cyber Monday trading period in November, the company said that Australia’s December retail trading performance proved softer than anticipated.
As a result, CRG’s sales growth averaged 1 per cent for the last seven weeks of the period.
Net trading space increased by 0.2 per cent on the prior comparable period, with the online contribution to sales broadly unchanged at 27.2 per cent.
CRG said it is adopting a department-store approach under its recently appointed CEO, Steven Cook. The group recorded its first-ever loss in the 2025 financial year.
