Retailers cashing in after solid year

WHO said Australian retailing was dead?

JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman have proved the naysayers wrong, with their share prices almost doubling this year.

And while people were writing off department stores David Jones and Myer 18 months ago, there appears to have been a rethink in values as traditional retailers embrace online shopping and focus on fashion.

Well-known players have significantly outperformed the overall sharemarket during 2013, however share prices are still around 2009/10 levels.

Among the lesser known consumer goods, sports and fashion brands, Super Retail Group, Specialty Fashion and Breville Group have all performed well in 2013.

The ASX200 index has rallied 15 per cent since the start of the year as consumer confidence builds and the busy Christmas trading season gets into full swing.

The buoyant mood has prompted electronics retailer Dick Smith to follow a recent string of successful floats as it looks to raise almost $345 million by listing on the share market on December 4.

Analysts say share price gains among the major retailers in 2013 are significant, but they need to be taken in context.

"The retailers have been the standouts this year," CommSec analyst Steven Daghlian told AAP.

"But putting that in perspective, they didn't do very well in the year's prior, in 2010/11 when consumers were very cautious to part with their dollars and while the Aussie dollar remained quite high."

Recent share market highs had boosted investor confidence and helped retailers like Harvey Norman, Myer and David Jones.

"We're seeing a bit of a recovery," Mr Daghlian said.

"They're just back to where they were five years ago."

If you bought shares in JB Hi-Fi this time last year you could now double your money.

And cashing in your Harvey Norman shares would deliver an 80 per cent premium on a 12 month investment.

Gains among David Jones and Myer have been more modest, but investors are still well ahead of the local index.

David Jones shares jumped 32 per cent this year while Myer shareholders are looking at a 27 per cent profit for 2013.

Sports and leisure retailer Super Retail is also in the money, putting on 37 per cent while electronic appliance maker Breville is up 29 per cent in the calendar year.

Despite several measures of consumer confidence and spending showing improvements since the September election, the big retailers remain cautious.

Harvey Norman CEO Gerry Harvey is the latest big retailer to say his business has not felt the benefits as he continues to complain about the GST exemption on foreign purchases less than $1000.

Department store chain Myer is also cautious as it faces a challenging economic and consumer environment while David Jones is waiting for consistent consumer sentiment results.

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