Electrical appliances retailer Clive Peeters Ltd
(ASX:CPR) has become the third retailer in as many days to slash its sales forecast.
The company says its sales in April had deteriorated so much that it expects its operating loss for the first quarter of 2010 to be $4.5 million, compared with a loss of $600,000 for the same period last year.
Managing director Greg Smith says subdued sales and margin pressures had damaged its trading outlook.
Mr Smith says interest rate rises and the threat of more to come is affecting sales of big ticket items such as fridges, televisions and washing machines.
Clive Peeters’ grim sales forecast comes on the back of toy maker Fantastic Holdings unveiling a profit downgrade on Monday and Woolworths last week pulling back its 2010 sales outlook.
The glum retail environment is likely to put further pressure on Myer and David Jones when they report their third-quarter sales results in coming weeks.
Clive Peeters posted an $8.97 million loss for the 2009 financial year.
