Australian sleepwear brand Peter Alexander is currently exploring international wholesale partnership opportunities, coming off the back of a UK retail rollout that has yet to pay dividends.
Peter Alexander has never had wholesale partners. The brand – managed under Premier Investments – owns and operates 120 stores across Australia and New Zealand, with three stores in the United Kingdom, and websites for both regions.
Speaking during a press briefing following Premier Investments’ half-year results, chairman Solomon Lew said the company is currently in negotiations, with Premier’s trading update statement stating these will be “best in class” wholesale partners.
This is expected to be partnerships with international distribution companies rather than traditional wholesale through retailers or department stores, given Peter Alexander’s sister retail business, Smiggle, has long-term wholesale partnership agreements globally, including through the Middle East and Indonesia.
In its trading update, Premier noted it will leverage Premier Retail’s existing expertise in the wholesale channel.
This comes as Peter Alexander attempts to take on global markets, including an owned retail and e-commerce entry in the United Kingdom.
In FY25, Peter Alexander’s UK entry and marketing costs were $10.9 million. First-half of FY26 costs for this were $3.8 million, according to Premier’s half-year accounts. First-half sales in the UK for Peter Alexander were $3.8 million, with gross profit at $2.2 million. Including expenses of $6 million in both the first halves of FY25 and FY26, the brand’s UK market recorded an EBIT loss of $3.8 million.
In the same media call, Premier Retail’s CFO and interim CEO, John Bryce, said the sleepwear brand is in a launch phase in the UK and is showing good, encouraging signs in the market.
“We're very happy with how the stores are looking and our teams over there,” Bryce said. “It's just one year into a journey. The presence of Peter Alexander in Australia is 40 years into that journey. So there's a little way to go.”
Despite the soft start in the UK, Peter Alexander’s total sales, including its core markets of Australia and New Zealand, were up 4.9 per cent in the first half to $312.3 million.
During the half, four new stores were opened, and four were either expanded or relocated with further investment in fit-out and customer experience.
Premier added that over 15 further opportunities have been identified for both new and larger format Peter Alexander stores in existing markets “to better showcase the wider product offering that has been developed as the customer base for the brand continues to broaden.”
The brand also launched ‘Peter’s Dreamers’, a loyalty program, in October 2025, which reportedly exceeded management’s expectations. The program is expected to deliver over 1 million customer acquisitions by the end of FY26.
Peter’s Dreamers customers contributed 60 per cent of brand sales during 1H26, at an average transaction value 45 per cent above non-members.