serious upside, page-30

There's definitely been a pick up in volumes of late.

I think recent signs have been very encouraging. The RBA has indicated it will slash rates to bring down the high Australian dollar if necessary. So it looks like interest rates will be coming down this year. As Noni B customers typically have a mortgage, this should give sales a good boost.

Then there is news like the article below which strongly points to the ending of the 3 to 4 year retail recession and the return of growth in consumer spending.

And it certainly looks like Noni hasn't lost its touch - found an article describing a fashion contest held recently in Tasmania whereby 200+ women got dressed up in their best frocks, for a chance to win first prize. And the winner was, you guessed it, a Noni B piece. We all know Noni makes great clothing but it's good to see some recognition sometimes!

Westfield confident on spending

Posted Date: 27/02/2013
By Kylie Williams of AAP

Australian shoppers may be ready to start splashing their cash again as solid savings rates and low inflation lifts consumer confidence, Westfield boss Peter Lowy says.

Lowy made the comments as the shopping centre giant posted an 18.3 per cent rise in annual profit.

He said while there were always external factors which could influence retail sales, current conditions in the Australian economy pointed to an improvement during the year.

"Retail sales have been relatively flat for three or four years," he told AAP.

"There has been a very high savings rate in Australia and that has stabilised now, you see higher consumer confidence than you've seen before.

"January was relatively good in the sales and with the country with about two per cent GDP growth and inflation at about two per cent we just think that all adds up to retail sales to finally start growing again."

Lowy said he expects sales growth of 1.5-2.0 per cent in Westfield's Australian and New Zealand shopping malls during 2013.

Sales growth at its US and UK centres is expected to be even higher at 4.0-5.0 per cent. Bell Direct analyst Julia Lee agreed that it was likely that Australian consumer sentiment would improve during 2013.

"Retail has been cyclically low and at some time in the next 18 months we expect to see cyclical conditions improve and we've already seen a number of interest rate cuts which will hopefully seep through to the retailers," she said. "

The retailers have been moving ahead of that expectation and generally the market does tend to move between 12 to 18 months before it happens."

Westfield Group, which manages 150 shopping centres in five countries, lifted its net profit to $1.72 billion profit in the year to December 31, from $1.532 in 2011.

Westfield's speciality stores experienced 0.5 per cent sales growth for the year.

That trend strengthened in January, with sales up four per cent.

The speciality stores continued to outperform department stores, which experienced a 0.5 decline in annual sales growth.

Lowy said Westfield was focused on building large premium shopping centres in the world's major cities such as London, Milan, Sydney and New York.

But he did not believe the struggling Italian economy would impact on plans for Westfield's Milan centre as it was a global fashion capital with a shortage of premium malls and wealthy shoppers.

Westfield shares closed six cents higher at $11.14.

AAP