Online shopping in overdrive helps Temple & Webster sales soar

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Online shopping in overdrive helps Temple & Webster sales soar

By Dominic Powell

The head of digital homewares retailer Temple & Webster says Australians remain voracious online shoppers 18 months into the pandemic, with ongoing lockdowns further fuelling the boom.

Mark Coulter, Temple & Webster’s chief executive, told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald e-commerce spending was showing no signs of slowing down, evidenced by the online-only retailer’s record year of revenue and profits growth.

Temple and Webster CEO Mark Coulter and CFO Mark Tayler.

Temple and Webster CEO Mark Coulter and CFO Mark Tayler.Credit: Eamon Gallagher

“Our fourth quarter grew at 26 per cent ... which is a good growth rate in any normal year,” he said. “But that [rise] was against a period last year where things were already growing 130 per cent.”

“So we’re not seeing any signs of online shopping taking a back seat. There’s a more permanent adoption of [online shopping].”

The continued enthusiasm for e-commerce was also reflected in Temple & Webster’s start to the new financial year, with sales rising 39 per cent for the first 24 days of July, a period during which Victoria, Sydney and Adelaide all experienced lengthy hard lockdowns.

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Temple & Webster has historically been a beneficiary of COVID lockdowns, which have funnelled housebound shoppers to its online store. Shares in the business soared on Tuesday morning, gaining nearly 15 per cent to $13.33 before closing at $12.47.

“If people are unable to go to the stores because they’re closed or they’re worried about their health, definitely they turn to online shopping,” Mr Coulter said. “At the start of lockdowns we usually see spikes in things like fitness equipment and home office products.”

The retailer’s strong start to fiscal 2022 comes after a record set of preliminary full-year results for the business, which was once considered one of the ASX’s worst floats.

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Sales rose 85 per cent to $326.3 million and earnings more than doubled, gaining 141 per cent to $20.5 million for the year. The retailer now has 778,000 active customers, an increase of 62 per cent on the prior financial year.

Temple & Webster also reported a balance sheet with $97.5 million in net cash, leading Mr Coulter and chief financial officer Mark Tayler to suggest the company could look to make some acquisitions in the coming year.

“We’re in a good position to move on targets and move on them quickly,” Mr Tayler said.

Analysts said the result was slightly above expectations but pointed to July’s growth rate as a standout. Jarden’s Wassim Kisirwani told clients fiscal 2022 had started “very strongly” for the retailer and put it in a good spot for the rest of the year.

“The confirmation of accelerating revenue growth against a tough comparative base and a strong start to FY22 should allay concerns around near-term growth expectations,” he said.

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