Outdoor wear brand Kathmandu has posted a double-digit lift in revenue for the five months between August and December 2025, outpacing its sister brands Rip Curl and Oboz Footwear under its overarching group KMD Brands.
For the five months to December, Kathmandu sales grew by 12.9 per cent, with sales stronger in the three months to October (up 13.9 per cent) compared to the last two months of 2025 (up 12.1 per cent).
Rip Curl’s sales were still quite modest, up 5.6 per cent in the five months to December, with similar movements to Kathmandu in the first three months and the last two months.
Country Road Group – the Australian fashion group under Woolworths Holdings Limited in South Africa – also reported softer sales closer to Christmas.
Oboz Footwear, KMD’s smallest subsidiary that is more focused in wholesale, reported a 4.5 per cent lift in sales, with starker contrast between the first three months and the last two months. In the three months to October, Oboz sales were down 1.3 per cent and shot up to 21 per cent in November and December.
Management added that Rip Curl’s same store sales lifted by 1.7 per cent in the full 23 weeks ending January 4, 2026, year-on-year, with strong same store sales results for North America.
Same store sales at Kathmandu were up 12.7 per cent in the same time frame, continuing sales momentum in both Australia and New Zealand.
“We are pleased with the Group’s early progress in the execution of its Next Level transformation strategy, in particular trading over the critical Black Friday and Christmas periods,” KMD Brands group CEO and managing director Brent Scrimshaw said.
“Whilst we are still at the early stages of our transformation, we are encouraged by the improved performance of Kathmandu, with an adjusted flow of fresh innovation planned in the second half which we believe will strengthen our ability to expand gross margin over time. We continue to focus on optimising the balance between sales and gross margin while actively managing our inventory investment.”
In the same trading update today, KMD Brands also noted that overall wholesale sales for the five months of FY26 to date were up 9.4 per cent compared to the same time in FY25.
In-season buying from key accounts has also been positive, the group added.
Despite the uplift in sales, group gross margin year-to-date fell by around 100 basis points to 56.7 per cent, reportedly due to the elevated level of promotional activity in the market and continued focus by all brands to optimise mix and sell through of aged inventory.
However, year-to-date gross margin is above the second half of FY25.
KMD expects first half underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to hit within the range of NZ$8 million to NZ$11 million, which is up from NZ$3.9 million recorded in first half of FY25.
The group also reported it has extended its existing debt facility term to April 2027 and has adjusted the fixed cover charge ratio for July 2026 and January 2027 measurement periods with no restrictions in place. The group has also reduced its total syndicated bank facilities to approximately NZ$283 million.
KMD said it expects to comply with all amended covenants at the January 2026 measurement point and is in discussions with lenders on the refinancing of its long-term debt facilities.
The group expects net debt at 31 January 2026 to be in the range of NZ$85 million to NZ$90 million (1H FY25 NZ$76.2 million) impacted by the weakening of the NZ dollar year-on-year.