jb does for me what few other retailers do

I bought into JB a long time ago and have sold down my holdings on a number of occasions only to chicken out and buy them back. Thankfully the damage has never been too bad. I agree that they appear on paper quite expensive.
My original reasoning for buying was simple.
1. I nearly always buy something when I go in one of the stores (usually something I wasn't after or don't need).
2. I've always got to que up (With other cash paying customers).
3. Whenever there is music or movies or 'gadgets' that I can't find elsewhere JB has it.

Sure there are other good performing retail stocks out there, and for all I know they may be better managed. But give this a try. Do a lap of your local HVN store and see how many commission sucking sales people swoop you before you can get out. Then go to JB and count how many people you have to wait behind to buy a high ticket item.

Oh and 1 more thing. JB pulls crowds to store sites that would spell doom for many retailers. There has got to be some cheap rent deals on their books. But it doesn't seem to stop the customers.

Sure the AUD, stretched mortgages and general stock market levels are factors in the future price. But there are easier ways to bet on those markets than to dump a good retailer.