Durban - Upper-end retailers are over the moon about Christmas sales, as consumers reacted to the weakened rand by pouring money into pampering themselves and giving their homes a face-lift instead of travelling abroad.
Buying ahead to cushion the effect of dollar-related increases had also been a trend over the Christmas period, said Justin Divaris, the chief executive of Arthur Kaplan Jewellers (AKJ), and James Smith, the chief executive of Wetherlys, the exclusive furniture retailer.
Divaris said AKJ's sales had shot up 25 percent over December, following the company's management buyout from the Retail Apparel Group (RAG).
Net profit for December was up 42 percent on last year, following the closure of 10 unprofitable outlets since becoming independent from RAG. AKJ now has 32 standalone stores and four within Stuttafords outlets.
The trend was expected to continue, feeding through to a 50 percent increase in net profit for the year to June.
Smith said if Wetherlys Christmas sales had been any better, they would have been "out of control".
The company notched up a 38 percent increase in turnover. Sales in the first week of January doubled last year's, fuelling cautious hopes that the trend would continue.
Keith Brouze, the chief executive of The House of Busby, the accessory and clothing group, said Christmas trading had been good, especially in Cape Town where the estimated 3 million tourists had gone on a spending spree, boosting turnover 30 percent.
However, the fling was not expected to have a marked effect on the company's interim results to December, as it had been a case of "playing catch-up" after a tough first three months.
Brouze also said they were "very worried" about the next six months, when prices would rise dramatically. Consumers would not face a single shock increase though, as Busby would absorb the costs into its margins in a step-by-step process.
Mass middle market retailers did not fare as well, but RAG's financial director, Malcolm Hyland, said the group's Jenny Cole and Patrick Daniel brands had done "exceptionally well".
Massmart, owner of Dions and Makro, said yesterday that its first half sales to December 23 were ahead of budget. It said it had recorded sales of R7.9 billion, 32 percent up on the comparable period and slightly ahead of budget.
Massmart gained 15c to R12.75 yesterday and Wetherlys closed unchanged at R2.30.