S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) shares that have been sold off could be turnaround opportunities due to the low expectations placed on them at the current valuation.
Some names in the retail sector have experienced significant declines recently, as trading updates were not as good as expected.
There's no guarantee that disappointment in the latest update will mean a positive surprise in the next one. However, on a three- or five-year view, I think there are some names capable of recovering substantially from their current position, such as the following two.
Image source: Getty Images
Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)
Accent owns several retail brands, including The Athlete's Foot, Nude Lucy, Stylerunner and Platypus. It also sells various global shoe brands, including Vans, Ugg, Skechers and Hoka. The business has also started opening Sports Direct stores in Australia.
The trading update for FY26 did not impress the market. While total group-owned sales were up 3.7%, like-for-like sales were down 0.4% and the gross profit margin for FY26 year to date was down 160 basis points (1.60%) compared to the prior year. Operating profit (EBIT) is expected to be in the range of $85 million to $95 million for FY26.
The ASX 300 share has a number of initiatives to deliver growth, including opening 50 Sports Direct stores over the next six years, rolling out dozens of stores for the other brands (including Stylerunner and the highly profitable Nude Lucy), buying back The Athlete's Foot stores from franchisees and growing new distributed brands.
According to the forecast from UBS, the Accent share price is valued at under 11x FY27's estimated earnings after falling close to 30% in a month.
The weaker performance is disappointing, but I believe it can bounce back from this level and potentially surprise investors.
Adairs Ltd (ASX: ADH)
Adairs is a furniture and homewares business which sells items through three different brands – Adairs, Mocka and Focus on Furniture.
The Adairs share price has fallen by more than 30% since 19 September 2025, making it appear to be a better value proposition if there's a recovery in the medium term. I believe that's possible following the rate cuts by the RBA and the end of high inflation.
The ASX 300 stock's update was also not exciting – it downgraded its sales expectations to a range of $319.5 million to $331.5 million, down from the previous range of $324.5 million to $336.5 million. The gross profit margin guidance was narrowed to between 59% to 59.5%.
I'm hopeful of a recovery in consumer spending overall, but Adairs is working on plans to improve, which could be more impactful.
It wants to reduce Adairs' inventory and cut the item count by 10%, maximise key sales periods, enhance the Linen Lover membership value, launch new store formats and upgrade its technology.
The ASX 300 share wants Focus on Furniture to be Australia's favourite furniture retailer by improving product quality and stock availability, expanding the choice of fabrics and colours, be faster to market with on-trend furniture, it's offering customers flexible payment options, it'll open dozens of more stores and accelerate store upgrades.
Finally, with the Mocka business, it wants to build brand awareness, expand the range and open a physical store trial in Australia.
According to the forecast from UBS, Adairs is trading at 8x FY27's estimated earnings.
