Briscoe Group, the parent company of Rebel Sport NZ, is set for its “biggest ever year of strategic developments” in FY26 – including upgrades to range planning, website revamps, new store concepts and a new DC set-up.
Speaking with investors, group chief operating officer Andrew Scott confirmed the team is implementing a new AI-driven range planning system via Impact Analytics, which Scott said will use rich analytical data to help the retail group curate its product ranges, “to be more compelling for our customers and more targeted to local community needs.”
“The system is made up of several modules all of which are planned to be implemented by the end of 2025,” Scott said.
“Alongside the significant sales and margin opportunities it provides, this tool will also free up time for our merchandise team to deliver new product ranges in the coming years.”
Then, in September, Briscoe Group GM of customer Isabel Campbell and her team will deliver new online web stores for Briscoes Homeware and for Rebel Sport.
Scott said the new platform will provide increased flexibility, enabling both retailers to deliver customer experience improvements faster than before.
“The new web platform will also catapult our direct-to-consumer business to the next level and provide tens of thousands of new products via our Briscoes and Rebel online stores.”
Alongside these plans, Briscoe Group is also targetin to launch the new Rebel X flagship in Panmure, an upgrade of the current store in the area. This store, Scott said, “will showcase a brand-new store design and the best ranges available in New Zealand.”
“The new design will feature a fantastic new footwear offering and improved interactive zones for customers. This new concept really will deliver the best sporting retail experience in NZ.”
This appears to follow a similar move by Rebel in Australia, which has been rolling out rCX stores, intended to lift experiential retail with interactive zones.
To cap FY26 off, Scott said the group should get an early Christmas present with early access to its New Drury distribution centre to start fitting out with racking and the fit-out programme. Once the racking is installed and facilities are available, the group will gradually transition in 2026 out of the existing Wiri facility.
Further ahead, Briscoe Group is set to undertake store stock reductions across both its retail subsidiaries to free up in-store space.
This will be driven by the new DC, with Briscoes Homeware first up for the overhaul.
Scott said the plan is to reduce stock in Briscoes by at least 20 per cent.
“As the store stock levels reduce it will free up significant space in stores,” he said. “As of today, we have over 200,000 sqm of retail space in our 90 stores, therefore with 20 per cent stock reduction and this delivers up to 20,000sqm of free space. This is equivalent to opening another 10 new stores without any additional costs.
“With lower stock levels it will also unlock significant labour hours savings. Each year we spend approximately $70 million on store wages, therefore with a smoother stock flow to stores, the potential efficiencies are significant.”
Scott said the current thinking is that rather than bank all the cost savings, he and the team plan to re-invest a portion back into further improving its service levels for customers.
In the back end of FY27, with the launch of automation at the new DC, a similar store stock reduction will kick in for Rebel. Products from the global brands such as Nike and Adidas will be shipped via DC, allowing Briscoe to target stocks more accurately. This is expected to significantly improve its size availability.
“With increased sales from new ranges, improved margin from the DC efficiencies and store labour savings the impact on profitability will be significant. FY27 forecast benefits are up to $5m per year of increased profit but this is only the beginning.”