Mosaic Brands is set to progressively reopen its 1,400 stores across Australia from May 11, following successful trial reopenings.
In a trading update, the business – which operates brands such as Millers, Rivers, Rockmans and Noni B – said that each store will reopen following strict health and safety guidelines to protect shoppers and Mosaic's 6,800 team members.
However, Mosaic has stated that it will not open stores where a satisfactory agreement – which takes into consideration changes to shopping habits, store revenues and centre foot-traffic – with landlords cannot be reached.
Meanwhile, Mosiac's online sales have been booming during the social isolation period, with the business reporting online sales growth of over 80% during the past six weeks, compared with the same period in 2019.
This performance reflects substantial work the business has undertaken during this time to accelerate Mosaic's strategy to expand the range of products offered and grow customer acquisition.
Twenty categories and over 100,000 SKUs have been added across Mosaic's nine websites during this period.
However, the significant negative impact of COVID-19 cannot be ignored and Mosaic expects to report an EBITDA loss for the year to 30 June 2020, with the second half loss exceeding first half EBITDA of $32.7 million.
The Board will not declare an interim dividend for the half year to 29 December 2019 following its earlier deferral, which was pending clarification of the impact of COVID-19.
Mosaic has engaged with the Government’s JobKeeper program, which has allowed it to retain its store and support office team members.
"Management wishes to thank team members for their continued dedication, commitment and resilience, as well as expressing its sincere thanks to its suppliers and partners for their ongoing support during this difficult time," Mosaic said in a statement.
"Management’s thoughts are with everyone affected by COVID-19."
Mosaic anticipates the pandemic’s impact on its performance to be short-term and expects a return to profit in FY2021.