Australian sleepwear brand Peter Alexander has hit a record sales result of $478.9 million for FY23, according to parent company Premier Investments.
This is up 11.8% on FY22 and up 93.3% on FY19, with Peter Alexander trading from 10 less stores than in July 2019.
The record result comes as Premier Retail’s global sales lifted by 9.7% for the year to $1.6 billion, which is also up by 29.3% on FY19.
However, the company reported a slowing discretionary environment by financial year’s end, with the Group’s global sales for the first six weeks of FY24 down 2% on a record first half FY23.
For FY23, Premier Retail’s apparel brands - consisting of Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Portmans, Dotti and Jacqui E - also delivered combined revenue growth of 4.6% on FY22, and up 17.9% on FY2019 to $844.8 million in FY23.
The apparel brands traded from 37 (or 5%) less stores than in July 2019.
Premier Retail interim CEO John Bryce said all three of its retail arms delivered record sales, with accessories brand Smiggle recording the largest percentage growth of 22.4% to $319.8 million. However, this is only up 4.3% on FY19, with 51 less stores now compared to then.
“Notwithstanding the challenging macroeconomic environment and the cost-of-living pressures faced by the community, our brands are focused on delivering wanted products and value for our customers,” Bryce said.
“We maintain a relentless focus on product and channel optimisation whilst working with the board to maximise growth opportunities for each of our brands.”
According to Premier Retail, Peter Alexander delivered record sales for the week leading up to Christmas 2022, as well as a record Mother’s Day in the second half.
Peter Alexander opened six new stores during FY23, with a further six stores planned to open in the first half of FY24, alongside four relocations/expansions into larger formats.
A further 20-30 opportunities have been identified for both new and/or larger format stores in Australia/New Zealand to open in the near term.
Alongside plans to launch future offshore market opportunities, Peter Alexander is also set to launch with a global cross border ecommerce platform provider in November 2023 to grow the brand across 35 countries. It will be supported by digital marketing programs in select countries.
Premier also noted the five apparel brands are each well positioned to deliver future growth.
The growth across its brands will be led via Premier’s strategic review, announced in August 2023, which will review both the optimal operating structure and enhance identified key growth drivers such as product and sourcing, customer experience and engagement, property and formats, and operational efficiency.
In August, Premier noted the strategic review will also consider a demerger, with various sources pitting Smiggle and Peter Alexander as the likely candidates.
“Our wholly owned and operated retail brands under the banner of Premier Retail have again outperformed the market, delivering both record sales and record EBIT results,” Premier’s chairman Solomon Lew said.
“The team remains focused on delivering quality products, enhancing our digital offering and optimising the store portfolio.
“Under the stewardship of the Premier board, the group has also commenced work on the strategic review, designed to assess the opportunities and the growth pathways available.
“This work will support the Board in assessing the optimal future structure for the group to maximise the long-term potential of our iconic brands.”
Meanwhile, an agreement has been reached with a key wholesale partner to open freestanding Smiggle stores in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, in addition to the current ‘store-in-store’ arrangements.
The new agreement will allow Premier to open 60 freestanding stores within the next ten years in the five Middle Eastern markets. Seven freestanding stores are planned by the partner to open before Christmas 2023 - 3 stores in UAE and 4 stores in Qatar - with an additional 13 freestanding stores planned to open during calendar year 2024.
Under the new agreement, the wholesale partner will continue to procure products from Smiggle under its wholesale arrangements and will be responsible for all costs and store fit-outs associated with operating the freestanding stores.