Analysts, and some of the retailers themselves, say they are still as profitable as before Amazon’s “underwhelming” launch — for now.
On the stock market, where investors tend to have one eye firmly on the future, it’s a different story.
On Monday, high-performing local retailer JB Hi-Fi released a half-yearly update: growing profits, a steady market share, a drop in profit margins and disappointing results in New Zealand. As a result, its stock dropped 7.5 percent in the first three hours of trading — the company’s biggest volume of stock traded since 2016.
The day illustrated the fears investors have about the Amazon effect, despite the resilience of local retailers’ sales figures.
Kim Do, a senior industry analyst at Ibisworld, said the global giant had not yet actually affected retailers, with an undeveloped supply chain holding prices high enough to keep customers away.
