Music and electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) is fighting to be crowned today's come-back kid with its stock reversing early gains on the back of an encouraging sales update.
The stock was trading 2.2% in the red early today before fighting back to be 1.8% higher at $19.31 ahead of the market close today.
Management reported an 8.7% uplift in total sales from its Australian and New Zealand outlets in the March quarter that was fuelled by robust comparable sales growth of 6.9% from its domestic operations.
Comparable sales is measured from stores that are opened at least a year and the update was contained in a presentation filed to the ASX, which was not marked "market sensitive". The market clearly disagreed.
The third quarter numbers have lifted total sales for the nine months in the financial year to 3.4% and JB Hi-Fi said it is seeing a continuation of this momentum.
Even its new home appliance business is reported to be gaining traction with shoppers. Management is sticking to its full year 2014-15 guidance of revenue of around $3.6 billion and net profit of $127 million to $131 million.
The good news shouldn't come as too big a surprise to Motley Fool readers. I highlighted the potential for specialty store sales to beat market expectations when I covered mall owner Stockland Corporation Ltd's (ASX: SGP) solid quarterly update.
Coincidentally, Stockland's peer Scentre Group Ltd (ASX: SCG) also posted a good set of quarterly numbers today.
I think other mini-majors (established retail outlets that do not have the same floor space as departmental stores) are also likely to deliver pleasing growth figures for the second half of the financial year.
This stands in contrast to the disappointing sales updates from large format retailers such as Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW) and Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR).
Other mini-majors that I think will do well include stationary and clothes retailer Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV), footwear retailer RCG Corporation Limited (ASX: RCG) and fashion apparel chain Specialty Fashion Group Ltd. (ASX: SFH).
Specialty Fashion will need the uplift the most as the stock has been struggling since it acquired the underperforming Rivers stores.
