New Zealand retail conglomerate Briscoe Group has recorded a 1.03 per cent lift in first quarter sales for 2024 ending April 28, driven by its sporting goods subsidiary Rebel Sport.
Rebel sales increased by 4.28 per cent to $74.3 million, while the group’s homeware subsidiary Briscoe Homeware reported a 1.09 per cent fall in sales to $108.7 million.
Briscoe Group’s total unaudited sales were $183 million.
Group managing director Rod Duke called it a great result considering the current challenging retail environment in New Zealand.
“Like all retailers we continue to see margins being challenged,” Duke said. “We are very aware of the pressure on consumer spending and our team has responded fabulously to connect with customers by continuing to produce compelling value across our homewares and sporting goods categories.
“Inventory continues to be well controlled and finished the quarter around 8 per cent lower across both segments than the prior year.
“By maintaining our focus on how we construct, execute and analyse promotions, as well as relentless attention to controlling costs, the Group’s bottom-line net profit after tax (NPAT) for this first quarter will be in line with the same time last year.
“We expect New Zealand retail to remain highly challenging throughout the remainder of 2024, but we have a fantastic team who give me great confidence that we can deliver strong half and full year results.”
As of January 28 this year, Rebel Sport operated 43 stores across New Zealand, with Briscoe Homeware operating 47 stores across the country.