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DJs sales online less than 0.2 per cent

Less than 0.2 per cent of sales at David Jones were made online in fiscal 2011, nine months after the department store chain rebooted its retail website

David Jones is struggling to establish itself as a significant online retailer after revealing less than 0.2 per cent of its sales were made through its new shopping website last financial year.

Nine months after the department store chain rebooted its retail website, chief executive Paul Zahra said the company's online sales accounted for just $3 million out of almost $2 billion of revenue in fiscal 2011.

David Jones is currently tendering for a new "IT solution" to support its multi-channel retail strategy.

Full year sales in the year to July 30 fell 4.4 per cent to $1.96 billion, the company said in its full year results on Wednesday.

Zahra said the company was progressing well with its new Point of Sale (POS) system, which would play a pivotal role in the company's multi-channel strategy.

But he refused to give any projections for online sales for the current financial year.

"We're not separating our online business from our main department store because the opportunity comes when we actually improve the IT platform, which doesn't happen until next year.

"We've got growth month on month since we've done trading in the area."

David Jones' full year profit fell by 1.5 per cent to $168.1 million for the 52 weeks to July 30 compared to $170.8 million in the previous corresponding period.

Zahra also refused to offer guidance for fiscal 2012.

Online retailing is estimated to make up around five to ten per cent of retail sales in Europe and the United states.

Zahra said the company last year made a conscious decision to establish itself as a successful multi-channel retailer.

Since November 2010, the number of products on offer had expanded to 2,500.

As part of its five-year plan, the company is reviewing "everything" it does.

"The beauty of having 36 locations allows us to fully leverage the multi-channel strategy in the future because we're not heavily invested in the bricks and mortar part of our business," Zahra said.

The introduction of scanners in the gift and bridal area was included in the capital expenditure for fiscal 2012, he said.

It comes after department store operator Myer last week said its internet sales site had the potential to "explode".

Myer will spend $6 million on upgrading its online presence between September and November and another $3 million between November and April.

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