The US-listed parent company of Australian-founded fashion brands Culture Kings, Princess Polly and Petal & Pup has reported a solid start to 2026, with first-quarter net sales rising 3 per cent to US$132.5 million (~A$183 million) as the group's multi-year profitability push begins to show in its numbers.
San Francisco-based A.K.A. Brands Holding Corp (NYSE: AKA) posted net sales of US$132.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, up from $128.7 million in the same period last year, with growth of 1.2 per cent on a constant currency basis.
Adjusted EBITDA almost doubled to US$5.1 million, compared to US$2.7 million in the first quarter of 2025, while the net loss narrowed to US$7.1 million from US$8.4 million a year earlier.
Each of the group's Australian-founded brands made notable progress during the quarter. Princess Polly is on pace with its retail expansion, with 17 US stores and two Australian stores expected to be open by the end of the year, along with a pop-up store opening at The Grove in Los Angeles.
Petal & Pup built wholesale momentum with strong performance across an expanding base of retail partners.
Meanwhile, Culture Kings' sustained investment in its in-house brand portfolio appears to be delivering measurable results, with gross margin and full-price mix improving materially year-over-year. As part of the full transition to its test-and-repeat model, the company wrote off $12 million of streetwear inventory during the quarter.
Reported gross margin jumped to 63.1 per cent from 57.2 per cent in the prior year period, though the headline figure was significantly influenced by a US$25.8 million receivable recognised following the US Court of International Trade's order for US Customs and Border Protection to refund IEEPA tariff duties, after the US Supreme Court ruled Trump’s tariffs were not authorised under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Stripping out the tariff benefit, the inventory write-off and other one-time items, adjusted gross margin expanded 180 basis points to 59 per cent, reflecting improved inventory discipline and stronger full-price sell-through, according to the parent company.
The AU/NZ region was among the stronger-performing geographies. Sales in Australia and New Zealand grew 3.8 per cent to US$36.9 million, outpacing the 3.2 per cent growth recorded in the US market. Active customers across the group grew 3.1 per cent on a trailing twelve-month basis to 4.26 million, with the number of orders placed rising 4.2 per cent, partially offset by a 1.3 per cent dip in average order value to $77.
The company maintained its full-year net sales guidance of between US$625 million and US$635 million, while upgrading its adjusted EBITDA outlook to between US$30 million and US$32 million, up from the prior guidance of US$27 million to US$29 million.
Group CEO Ciaran Long said the results reflected meaningful progress in the A.K.A. Brands’ repositioning.
"Over the past three years, we have fundamentally repositioned the business to improve profitability and durability,” Long said. “We've expanded distribution across stores, wholesale, and marketplace, strengthened our operational foundation, and instilled greater financial discipline across the business.”
The company noted its outlook is based on tariff rates that were in place exiting 2025, given uncertainty around forward tariff rates.