Woolworths released a trading update on Thursday, we ran out of time to cover it Friday. This wraps awfully on the Woolworths website, perhaps it is just my browser: Trading update and trading statement: 26 weeks ended 27 December 2015. Group sales, as you can see increased a pretty remarkable 17.1 percent, excluding David Jones (perhaps for the last time during this year), group sales increased 12.3 percent. Inside of the David Jones stores the shift to Woolies owned brands is evident and being well received, Country Road in Australia is definitely a beneficiary.
All in all a pretty decent trading update that has been (all things being relative) well received by the market, the results will be released on the 11th of February, give or take a few days. As the David Jones integration takes place, the rights issue higher number of shares in issue on a comparable basis still floats around, the numbers and success of the acquisition will become increasingly clear this year. In other words, the longer dated the transaction becomes, the easier it becomes to compare Woolworths. Sometimes I struggle, when I visit the stores, in particular the fashion, the clothing, to believe how the metamorphosis from boring to luxury has been relatively short. We continue to accumulate what we believe is the best of the listed retailers. You can try to fake luxury and quality, the consumer always knows.