“Unprecedented”: Baby Bunting chief says tough conditions will cost it up to $5 million in earnings this year

Retailer Baby Bunting is the latest brand to highlight incredibly tough sales conditions in the lead-up to the end of financial year, confirming the collapse of two other baby goods providers this year has had an impact on its sales.

In May the brand warned shareholders that things may not pan out as expected this year after competitors Baby Bounce and Baby Savings collapsed into voluntary administration, sparking fire sales of baby goods across the country.

This morning, the company informed the ASX that while it had previously anticipated it would book around $23 million in earnings in the 2018 financial year, this was now expected to be between $18 and $20 million.

The company’s chief executive Matt Spencer said that the market conditions the company had seen this year were “unprecedented”. The company says year-to-date sales have grown 9.6% compared with last year, but comparative store sales remain flat. The company said it was “challenging in the short-term”, but it was doing everything it could to consolidate its position as market leader going forward.

However, Baby Bunting is far from the only retailer highlighting that conditions are tough in the local market.

Last week local e-commerce platform The Iconic posted a $9.2 million loss for 2017, focusing on becoming profitable in the next year, reports Ragtrader. 

Meanwhile, shopping centre stalwart Esprit confirmed it would leave Australia and New Zealand this year, given these markets contributed only a drop to its multi-billion Euro turnover each year.

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