Rebel Sport in New Zealand has reported a full-year net profit after tax (NPAT) slip of 11 per cent alongside very soft sales growth, offsetting stronger movements in its sister subsidiary Briscoe Homewares under the Briscoe Group.
Full-year results from the group show that Rebel Sport’s NPAT was NZ$27.4 million (~A$22.8 million) in FY26, which is down 11 per cent on last year.
Rebel Sport NZ’s slip in profit came as its total sales nudged up by just 0.13 per cent to just over NZ$302 million. This sales lift added to Briscoe Group’s total sales, which lifted by just over NZ$7 million to a record NZ$798.8 million, driven by the group’s homewares segment Briscoe.
For comparison, Briscoe’s sales jumped by several million dollars to NZ$496.7 million, with its NPAT lifting by around 9 per cent to NZ$29.1 million.
Overall group net profit slipped by 2.3 per cent to NZ$59.2 million.
Group chair Dame Rosanne Meo said the group continued to execute well through FY26, maintaining strong inventory and cost control while navigating a year that remained challenging for many households and retailers.
“Looking forward, the board acknowledges that recent global events are contributing to a more uncertain external outlook, which management continues to actively monitor.”
Group managing director Rod Duke added that lifting total sales in FY26 – amid persistent pressure on consumer sentiment and discretionary spending – is an outstanding result. This is despite gross margin remaining under pressure, falling just over 1 percentage point compared to FY25, with Duke pointing to a highly competitive retail environment. This includes ongoing reports of discounting in Australia and New Zealand.
“Like all retailers we faced margin pressure through the first half of the year as competitive conditions remained challenging in a highly value-driven market,” Duke said. “Encouragingly, through targeted promotional adjustments and a sharper focus on specific trading opportunities, we materially reduced the rate of margin decline across the second half with a decline of 0.76 per cent - significantly improved compared to the first half’s decline of 1.54 per cent.
“Our goal for the 2026/27 financial year is to see positive growth in gross profit margin percentage.”
Regarding the Rebel business in particular, the company opened its first flagship Rebel Sport store, Rebel X, in Mt Wellington in mid-November. The group reported that Rebel X received “exceptional feedback” and “sets a new benchmark for sports retail in New Zealand”.
In addition, Briscoes Homeware Westgate and Rebel Sport Henderson were refurbished into next generation retail environments and the group also largely completed a redevelopment of the Rebel Sport CBD store in Wellington into a contemporary high street concept with an expanded footprint on Cuba Street.
Looking ahead, the group hopes to undertake at least five further store development projects during 2026.
The Group’s online business continued to strengthen during the year and represented 20.04 per cent of the group’s total sales, up from 19.69 per cent in FY25.
According to Duke, the group’s online teams delivered a number of key initiatives during the year including migration to the new Adobe platform and the launch of the direct-to-customer platform, Marketplacer. The company also undertook further optimisation of its search engine producing faster updates to online pricing and product pages.
“We remain excited about the potential to continue to grow the group’s online business as we further optimise these platforms and expand ranges and fulfilment options,” he said.
Duke also spoke on the conflict in the Middle East, saying he and the team are not underestimating how challenging the retail environment is likely to remain in the near term.
“Recent geopolitical disruption in the Middle East has the potential to place renewed pressure on fuel prices, with flow-through impacts on inflation, operating costs and consumer sentiment across the New Zealand economy,” Duke said. “Notwithstanding these near-term headwinds, we are excited about the potential for our initiatives to drive meaningful benefits over time.”
These initiatives include a new distribution centre in Drury, just outside the Auckland metropolitan area.
“These initiatives are expected to support profit growth over the next three to four years, targeting a return to record profit levels as these benefits flow.”