PETALING JAYA: Padini Holdings Bhd
’s operating environment is expected to remain challenging due to cautious consumer spending trend, expanded scope of the sales and service tax (SST) and higher operating costs, analysts say.
Kenanga Research said it walked away from Padini’s post-results briefing feeling mixed about its near-term prospects.
The research house said the homegrown fashion retailer expects to maintain its gross profit margin at 38% by not raising product prices amidst rising product costs.
“It hopes to achieve this by enhancing inventory management ahead of the upcoming Hari Raya festival via the optimisation of its inventory levels to three months (from four months), focusing on high-volume value-for-money products tailored to the local needs, optimising store and product offerings, as well as exploring alternative sourcing in China,” the research house said in a report yesterday.
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