The City Chic Collective Ltd (ASX: CCX) share price has taken off in early trade this morning on the back of a COVID-19 update. The ASX retail share announced strong online sales growth, profitability through the pandemic, and the staged re-opening of stores across Australia and New Zealand.

City Chic is a global, omnichannel retailer that specialises in plus-size women’s apparel, footwear and accessories. It is a collective of customer-led brands, including City Chic, Hips & Curves, and Avenue, the latter of which was acquired towards the end of last year.

The company’s omnichannel model comprises a network of more than 100 stores across Australia and New Zealand, multiple websites operating in Australasia and the US, and wholesale partnerships with major retailers, including Nordstrom, ASOS, and Macy’s.

What did City Chic announce?

One of the key takeaways from this morning’s announcement is that City Chic has managed to trade profitably through the period of COVID-19-related restrictions.

On 27 March, City Chic made the move to temporarily close its brick-and-mortar stores. However, being an omnichannel retailer with online contributing two-thirds of its global sales, most of City Chic’s business has continued to operate. 

Notably, the company revealed 57% online sales growth during the store closures compared to the same period last year.

City Chic has been adjusting its product mix to suit a change in customer behaviour, with strong buying of intimates, casual and streetwear offsetting weaker demand for ‘better-end dressing’. However, the retailer flagged it has been “more promotional” in order to manage cash flows and inventories, which has led to lower online gross margins.

How has City Chic responded to COVID-19?

Over the past 8 weeks, City Chic has implemented a number of measures to minimise the impact of the closure of its store network. With this, the retailer has driven working capital efficiencies, reduced head office costs, and deferred non-essential capital expenditure.

Additionally, City Chic has negotiated reduced rents with a large majority of landlords, along with “market appropriate go-forward rents” while uncertainty relating to COVID-19 remains.

The retailer notes it is in a strong financial position with minimal debt and significant headroom in its $40 million debt facility.

Over the past 2 weeks, City Chic has trialled a number of stores to ensure it is able to open its store network with the appropriate safety and hygiene measures in place.

After closing on Friday at a price of $2.44, City Chic shares jumped as much as 13.52% this morning to an intra-day high (so far) of $2.77. Pulling back somewhat to sit at $2.65 at the time of writing, the City Chic share price is back in positive territory for the year with a 4.74% gain year-to-date.

More reading

• 3 industries that may never recover from COVID-19
• Here’s how Goldman Sachs rates these mid cap ASX shares
• Who said ASX retail shares were dead?

Motley Fool contributor Cathryn Goh has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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At lunch on Monday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a very strong gain. The benchmark index is currently up 1.7% to 5,589.3 points.

Here’s what has been happening on the market today:

Bank shares storm higher.

The big four banks have started the week very strongly and are helping drive the ASX 200 higher. All four banks are in the black at lunch, but the standout performer has been the National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) share price. Its shares are up by a solid 2.75% at the time of writing as investors pile back into the sector.

Travel shares charge higher.

One of the best performing areas of the market on Monday has been the travel sector. The prospect of New Zealand opening its borders to Australian tourists appears to have given the sector a boost. The likes of Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) and Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) are up 12.5% and 10%, respectively, at the time of writing.

Afterpay hits a record high.

The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price has stormed to a record high of $47.48 on Monday. This appears to have been driven by positive investor sentiment and news that it has appointed a permanent Chair. Elana Rubin will has become the payments company’s Chair with immediate effect. She will retire from the ME Bank board in June, but remain as a Non-Executive Director for Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) and Slater & Gordon Limited (ASX: SGH).

Best and worst ASX 200 performers.

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Monday has been the Flight Centre share price with its 12.5% gain. Going the other way, the worst performer on the index on Monday has been the TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE) share price with a 3.5% decline. The enterprise software company’s shares have come under pressure since the release of its half year update last week.

More reading

• Leading brokers name 3 ASX 200 shares to buy right now
• Telstra share price down 21% since February. Is it now in the buy zone?
• Why Leigh Creek, Lynas, Monadelphous, & TechnologyOne are dropping lower
• Should you invest $1,000 in Altium shares today?
• 3 commodity trends to watch this week

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Limited and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) has seen a significant correction to its share price over the past few months, declining by around 21% since early February. Does this now place Australia’s largest telecommunications provider in the buy zone?

Strong continued demand for telco services

Although Telstra’s share price fall has been in line with many other S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) listed shares, I don’t believe the sharp sell-off was fully justified.

While many ASX listed companies have seen a decline in demand for their products or services, over the past few months, Telstra’s broadband and mobile services are proving to be essential to both businesses and consumers throughout the coronavirus crisis. This has helped with strong continued demand. There has been a sharp increase in fixed broadband bandwidth with more Aussies working from home, people keeping in touch with family and friends online and staying entertained through streaming media services like Netflix.

T22 strategy still on track

In a market update in March, Telstra revealed that it still appears to be on track to achieve most of the goals it had put in place as part of its T22 strategy, which includes reducing underlying fixed costs by $2.5 billion annually by the end of FY22. Telstra also announced that it would move forward capital expenditure initiatives, from the second half of FY 2021 into the calendar year 2020, to increase its overall network capacity and to accelerate the rollout of its 5G network.

In fact, Telstra was actually part of a small group of ASX 200 companies which were recently able to reaffirm their guidance in light of the coronavirus impact. However, the telco provider did acknowledge in its March update, that it expects both free cash flow and EBITDA for FY2020 to be at the bottom end of its guidance range.

In addition, the defensive nature of Telstra’s telecommunications business model, the continued demand for its services throughout the crisis and its strong free cash flow positions it well to maintain its current dividend of 16 cents per share. On current prices, Telstra pays a trailing fully franked dividend yield of 3.24%.

Foolish takeaway

I believe that Telstra was, to some degree, unfairly caught up in the wider market sell-off triggered by the coronavirus crisis. I feel that long-term, focused investors are presented with a fairly good buying opportunity after its recent market correction. Telstra’s fundamentals remain solid and Australia’s largest telecommunications provider appears reasonably placed for long-term growth over the next five to 10 years, driven by its market-leading position in the rollout of 5G services. I currently prefer it over its other rivals such as Optus, Vodafone-TPG and Vocus Group Ltd (ASX: VOC).

More reading

• Leading brokers name 3 ASX 200 shares to buy right now
• ASX 200 up 1.7%: Flight Centre and Webjet rocket, Afterpay hits record high
• Should you invest $1,000 in Altium shares today?
• 3 commodity trends to watch this week
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX rallies on mining highs

Motley Fool contributor Phil Harpur owns shares of Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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