Holdsport keeps sales climbing gently

(c) Bogdan Ionescu - 123RF.com

Holdsport, the retailer of specialist sport and outdoor apparel and equipment, has reported a 5% rise in sales for the four months to end December 2016.

Retail sales for comparable stores, however, fell 0.7% over the period.

Holdsport operates through a network of 39 Sportsmans Warehouse and 22 Outdoor Warehouse Stores.

It has a strategic investment in Performance Brands, which is independently managed and supplies technical apparel for the sporting goods industry under the First Ascent and Capestorm brands.

The company said sales increased 0.5% at Sportsmans Warehouse while comparable sales fell 2.3%.

At Outdoor Warehouse, sales increased 8.4% with comparable sales up 4.3%.

The wholesale division’s total sales increased 46.7% and external sales rose 110.8%.

The share price has held up better than its bigger rivals in the retail sector. Mr Price Group, which also released a trading update on Tuesday, fell 20.22% in 2016 and Truworths finished down 12.59%. Holdsport ended the year up 4.43%.

Lentus Asset Management chief investment officer Nic Norman-Smith said the retail sector was experiencing a downturn. "There doesn’t appear to be any reason to expect a massive change in current fortunes," he said.