Over the week, a clear picture has been emerging from the ASX small caps retail scene in light of Melbourne’s stage-four restrictions.

Department store Myer (ASX:MYR) and lighting store Beacon Lighting (ASX:BLX) confirmed last night they will close the doors of their metropolitan Melbourne stores for the next six weeks.

But both said they were still open for business online, and regional Victorian stores were still open.

Beacon was one of the niche retailers to gain from consumers having more time for DIY projects during the last lockdown.

CEO Glen Robinson said he still expected customers during lockdowns, pointing to trade customers completing projects or residential customers requiring emergency electrical works as examples.

Despite this morning’s news both stocks saw modest rises at market open.

BBN & MYR share price chart

 

Baby boom expected during lockdown

Baby Bunting (ASX:BBN) came out earlier this week and said it would remain open.

It’s CEO noted 9,000 babies were expected during the lockdown period.

Motorcycle Holdings (ASX:MTO), meanwhile, will only remain open to fulfil online orders.

While the company noted that stores in other states continued to see strong trading, it expected Victoria’s restrictions to deliver a $9m financial hit in the next six weeks.

BBN and MTO share price chart

 

Second lockdown to boost online sales further

The pandemic has been a blessing in disguise for companies that only have an online presence.

The ASX’s largest purely online play, Kogan (ASX:KGN), has gained another 14 per cent this week and is close to becoming a $2bn company, having been a little over a third of that in early January.

One of the ASX’s smaller retail plays, Harris Technology (ASX:HT8), has been a beneficiary too, particularly in light of Melbourne’s mandatory mask order.

Responding to a price query from the ASX yesterday it confirmed it was witnessing strong demand.

After sitting below 1c earlier this year, Harris Technology shares have climbed to 11.5c.

KGN & HT8 share price chart

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