It is forecasting an up to $6 million decline in after-tax profit, for the first half of its trading year to the end of this month.
Group chief executive Ian Morrice said in a market update yesterday that sales for the two months to January 2 were down 2.7%, compared to the same time a year ago.
Spending was "well down" on consumer electronics, gaming, CDs and DVDs.
"We expected the sector to remain difficult and highly promotionally driven over the course of our 2011 financial year, but New Zealand consumers clearly remain even more focused than we predicted on strengthening [their] household balance sheets," Mr Morrice said.
He said apparel, footwear and other seasonal categories traded in line with last year's figures, but, overall, same store sales were down 3.8%.
Same-store Warehouse Stationery sales were "flat" for the two months, being up slightly at 0.7%, he said.
The Warehouse last year delivered a first half to January after-tax profit of $57 million, but Mr Morrice said yesterday the range for this year's result was between $51 million and $54 million, with results to be released in early March.
