Scentre should be helped by all the decent retail figures in...

Scentre should be helped by all the decent retail figures in Australia from the likes of David Jones and Myer

David Jones has lifted adjusted first-half sales 4.0 per cent, the department stores' South African parent company says.

Woolworths Holdings says sales growth took a 1.6 per cent hit from the absence of concessions from collapsed electronics retailer Dick Smith and 2.7 per cent from the fact that Boxing Day falls in the second half of its financial year.

Sales were up once those two factors were stripped out. The company also said adjusted sales at its Country Road fashion stores dropped 0.9 per cent in the 26 weeks to December 25.