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Australia’s biggest fashion retailers are going into Black Friday with less stock, fewer blanket discounts and a far tighter grip on margin.
The four-day window opening on 27 November has spent a decade becoming the most important trading event on the Australian calendar. This year the country’s largest apparel and footwear operators are treating it as something to be managed, not just maximised.
Premier Investments chairman Solomon Lew put the position plainly.
“So we’re locked and loaded, ready to go and we’re planning to make our numbers. We have budgets and we buy to those budgets,” he said.
Premier closed its financial year on 25 July with inventory of $96.7 million, down 8.9 per cent, on Premier Retail sales of $795.5 million and EBIT of $175.9 million. Peter Alexander delivered record sales of $565.3 million.
“As we’ve announced, in a very tough environment over the last 12 months, we came in with close to 10 per cent less stock than the year before, with a very good EBIT margin of 22.1 per cent,” Lew said.
“It depends on how you manage your business – it’s up to each trader to take a position and manage their costs. We’re very good at managing costs.”
The pricing environment explains the caution. Clothing and footwear prices rose just 0.4 per cent in the year to the September quarter against headline inflation of 4.3 per cent, leaving apparel one of the few categories with no pricing power to fall back on. Margin surrendered over Black Friday cannot be recovered later in the ticket.
Spending itself has held up. Retail spending reached $40.13 billion in July on Australian Retail Council analysis of ABS data, up 6.1 per cent year-on-year, with clothing, footwear and accessories up 6.6 per cent. August flattened, with clothing and footwear down 1.0 per cent across the month. The ARC’s reading is that much of the headline growth is inflation and that real volumes are moving far more slowly.
The Reserve Bank took the cash rate to 4.60 per cent on 29 September.
Lew is unconvinced the consumer has stopped. He points to the NFL’s first regular-season game in Australia, played at the MCG in September before a crowd of about 100,000.
“Obviously people are earning a lot more these days, but costs are also a lot more. But usually at Christmas time, people seem to find the cash to spend,” he said.
The sharpest statement of intent comes from Salomon, which is declining to treat the weekend as a discount event at all.
“The Salomon strategy hasn’t changed a whole lot from last year. What has changed is the level of amplification we are going after,” ANZ head of marketing Briony Kent said.
“We look at Q4 as one single strategy with peaks and troughs rather than a string of separate moments. Cyber sits inside of that, not on top of it.”
The brand is launching the Summer of Salomon, a calendar built around activity, education and media designed to get customers outdoors and living in their Salomons.
“Our focus is on driving brand loyalty and connection across the whole period and continuing to push full price messaging. We’re not interested in the retail race to the bottom,” Kent said.
“Sale is important, no question. But what’s more important is what bookends it on either side.”
The brand has the momentum to hold that line. Parent Amer Sports lifted revenue 32 per cent to US$1.63 billion in the June quarter, with the Outdoor Performance segment that houses Salomon up 37 per cent.
Accent Group is redefining what value means rather than retreating from it.
“This year is shaping up to be one of the most competitive trading periods we’ve seen, with consumers looking for value. However, value now shows up in many different forms, not just price,” Accent Group Brands executive GM Liam Robson said.
“We believe our advantage is being able to bring our brand stories to life directly to the consumer.”
His portfolio takes in Hoka, Vans, Lacoste, Timberland, Merrell, Saucony, Norda and UGG.
“Our focus this peak period is on rewarding our database with unique brand experiences, genuine value propositions and early access to key product launches, particularly across our performance portfolio as we head into a new year of running innovation,” Robson said.
“It’s less about a blanket discount and more about giving our most engaged customers a reason to come to us first.”
Accent Group grew owned sales 4.7 per cent to $1.527 billion for the 52 weeks to 28 June, with wholesale up 10.8 per cent to $172 million and underlying EBIT of $105.3 million. The group opened 43 stores across a network of 876.
At Decjuba the lever is product rather than price.
“Our job is to harness the power of constant newness – keeping Decjuba fresh, relevant and front of mind, with compelling reasons for our customers to keep coming back throughout peak,” chief marketing officer Emily Spicer-Stuart said.
“We’ll build anticipation early for Black Friday, create urgency at the moments that matter and make our Decjuba Insiders feel genuinely valued through exclusive access, rewards and experiences.”
“But peak is bigger than the offer. It’s about the full Decjuba experience.”
The privately held retailer runs more than 170 stores across Australia and New Zealand with a team of more than 1,400.
“Our store network is one of our greatest competitive advantages and our teams are at the heart of it,” Spicer-Stuart said.
The Iconic is planning for a shopper who has turned on the format itself.
“Australians were vocal in their fatigue and cynicism toward the sales period and the tactics used by retailers,” chief customer and marketing officer Joanna Robinson said.
“Of course, it is still about trade and discounting, but we recognise and relate to the stress and overwhelm.”
“The shift is in the focus from a pure sales moment, to ‘value-tainment’ that cuts through the noise and provides practical utility to our customers.”
Trusted insiders will front customers weekly through November, with The Iconic’s office turning into a live newsroom where they work alongside stylists, buying and product teams and report back from a ‘Hack Desk’. The Iconic Front Row loyalty program carries a ‘Spend & Earn’ across November and December alongside free express delivery for selected members.
“This Black Friday we are focused on listening to our customers and offering what they really want during a festive, but often demanding, time of year,” Robinson said.
Global Fashion Group’s ANZ segment, which covers Australia and New Zealand, posted first-half 2026 revenue of €163 million, up 3 per cent on a constant currency basis, with earnings of €8.3 million, up 69 per cent.
Black Friday falls on 27 November, with the window running through to Cyber Monday on 30 November. On the evidence of this year’s plans, the measure of success will be margin rather than volume.