Wesfarmers has posted $4 billion in online sales in what it calls its “most disruptive” year due to COVID-19. 

Wesfarmers - which owns Bunnings, Officeworks, Kmart, Target Catch and other retailers - says it pulled in $4 billion in the 2021/22 financial year from more than 100 million online website visits per month.

Wesfarmers managing director Rob Scott says that depsite this, the financial year “was the most disruptive period we've experienced through the pandemic”, although it provided an opportunity to “demonstrate our commitment to our core objective” and take advantage of “opportunities arising from the digitisation and decarbonisation of the economy” in recent years.

He said Wesfarmers is looking to continue investing “in our existing businesses, creating new platforms for value creation” including the introduction of OneDigital - which is designed to streamline ecommerce capabilities and omnichannel offers.

“We continue to develop our omnichannel offer, optimising and expanding store networks and developing deeper digital engagement with customers,” Mr Scott said.

“We've made investments to modernise and digitise our supply chain and fulfilment capabilities.”

Mr Scott says Bunnings has been a focus of new investment.

“This included the ongoing expansion of data digital capabilities, which are driving greater personalisation and digitisation across both DIY and commercial customers,” he said

Bunnings revenue increased 5.2 percent to $17.8 billion for the year. The company said part of this was due to new in-store technology and layout changes, as well as a new web platform and improved search function.

At the Kmart Group (which includes Kmart, Target and Catch), Mr Scott said strong results had come despite lockdowns in parts of Australia “with ongoing ... digitisation initiatives in its stores and through the supply chain.”

“Kmart also continued to leverage its product development capabilities, to bring new products to market and to enter new categories in-store and online,” Mr Scott said.

He said Catch growth was pleasing, although earnings were “below our expectations”.

“Catch continues to invest in marketing technology and supply chain capabilities to support its long-term scale aspirations,” Mr Scott said.

Over at Officeworks, Mr Scott says the brand “delivered strong growth in technology sales during the year”, but this was offset by “other categories where sales were more negatively affected by lockdowns and temporary store closures.”

Revenue increased 4.6 percent for the year to nearly $3.2 billion, while the earnings of $181 million were 14.6 percent lower than the prior year.

Wesfarmers has also announced it has finalised the acquisition of the Australian Pharmaceutical Industries (API) to lay the foundation for its new health division.