This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
BILLIONAIRE Solomon Lew’s Premier Retail exceeded its first-half EBIT forecasts and delivered the second-highest sales in the group’s history, while it mulls the demerger of its successful Smiggle and Peter Alexander brands and the optimisation of its apparel brand store portfolio.
Premier, whose brands also include Just Jeans, Portmans, Dotti and Jacqui E, recorded global sales of $879.5 million for the first half, down 2.8% on the record first half of fiscal 2023, and up 20.1% on the pre-COVID first half of fiscal 2020. Premier said global sales for the first eight weeks of the current half are showing improving momentum from 1H24, back up in line with the prior comparable period (pcp).
A record Boxing Day take contributed a first-half EBIT of $209.8 million, exceeding originally anticipated “circa $200 million” by 4.9%, which had been upgraded from previous consensus of approximately $180 million.
Premier posted a net profit after tax of $177.2 million, and a record interim fully franked ordinary dividend of 63c per security, up 16.7% or 9c per share on the pcp.
Lew, the group’s chairman, said, “The ongoing strategic review has identified that the potential demerger of Smiggle and Peter Alexander is likely to maximise and accelerate the growth opportunities for these two brands over time”.
“We are therefore working towards a demerger of Smiggle by the end of January 2025 and exploring a demerger of Peter Alexander in calendar year 2025.”
Sleepwear brand Peter Alexander delivered another record sales result in the half, of $279.3 million, up 6.7% on the pcp and up 92.8% on 1H20. Peter Alexander traded from 10 less stores than in January 2020. The brand opened six stores in the half, and expanded or relocated four stores. Three new stores are confirmed to open in the second half.
Premier has identified more than 20 opportunities for new and larger format stores in existing markets, and is planning to open in the United Kingdom before Christmas this year.
Smiggle – “with the Smiggle customer particularly exposed to increased cost of living pressures in all global markets”, Premier said – delivered global sales of $183.9 million for the first half, down 3.6% on the pcp and down 5.1% on 1H20. It is currently trading as a more with 51 fewer stores than in January 2020.
Smiggle’s Middle Eastern wholesale partner opened their first standalone Smiggle stores during the half, with seven stores opening, and Smiggle expects to have over 17 standalone stores trading by July with the agreement aiming to open 60 freestanding stores within the next 10 years.
Smiggle has reached an agreement with an existing wholesale partner to open standalone stores in Indonesia, providing for the opening of over 100 Smiggle stores in Indonesia over the next 10 years.
Premier’s strategic review also identified “optimising the store portfolio and exploring new store formats” across its apparel brands.
Premier owns its global head offices on Melbourne’s St Kilda Road, and its Australian distribution centre, valued at a combined historical cost less depreciation of $70.4 million, which the group said is not reflective of the current market values.
