Briscoe eyes loyalty programme

Managing director Rod Duke.

Briscoe Group, which operates the Briscoes, Rebel Sports, and Living & Giving stores, may introduce a customer loyalty programme to stoke growth in online sales.

The retailer flagged at its 2012 annual meeting that it was trialling a new customer loyalty programme. Managing director Rod Duke yesterday said a loyalty programme to encourage people to use its website was one of the options he was exploring this year.

Such programmes typically reward members with discounts, spending points, special offers, gifts and prizes, and are used by retailers for manchester and homewares.

Online sales are continuing to comprise a bigger portion of Briscoe's overall sales, finishing 50 per cent up on the previous year.

But Duke, the listed company's majority shareholder, has consistently refused to say exactly what percentage online sales now constitute or the dollar amount due to "commercial sensitivity".

Duke said a higher number of online sales were coming from rural areas that were not serviced by a bricks and mortar store.

Overall, Briscoe's sales rose 2.9 per cent to $167.4 million in the fourth quarter despite tough trading conditions that led to aggressive discounting.

For the 13 weeks ended January 25, homeware sales rose just over 1 per cent to $113.1 million, while sporting goods sales lifted 7 per cent to $54.3 million.

That resulted in unaudited sales for the year of $507.1 million, an increase of 4.9 per cent, mainly led by a boost in revenue from Rebel Sports. On a same-store basis, group sales for the year rose 4.8 per cent.

Duke said he was satisfied with the sales, margins and overall performance for the final quarter of the year in a market which continues to be driven by aggressive promotional activity.

- BusinessDesk