Rebel Sport owner Briscoe in sales record

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Feb 5, 2018

New Zealand-based Rebel Sport owner Briscoe said its annual sales rose above NZ$600 million in the 12 months to January 28 as Black Friday and Boxing Day saw record turnover.

The company, which also owns Briscoes Homeware and Living & Giving, reported sales up 3.5% to NZ$603.1 million.

Rebel Sport, which retails some of the biggest global sports brands, as well as accessories like fitness trackers, in the Australian and New Zealand markets, was the star performer. Sports goods sales rose 4.3% to NZ$291.3 million during the year. Homewares are a larger part of the business but rose a smaller 3% to NZ$383.8 million.

MD Rod Duke was pleased with the performance given the "highly competitive markets” in which the business operates and said that the firm’s stores continue to appeal to customers, while its promotional campaigns also scored. Back in September, Duke had flagged up the firm’s heavy investment in its stores and this certainly appears to have paid off.

As mentioned, both Black Friday and Boxing Day were particularly strong and Boxing Day was its biggest sales day ever. But while the stores did well, e-sales also soared with a year-on-year rise of over 30%.

The company expects net profits to rise 7.6% to around NZ$61 million, it said, which would also be a record figure. It reports final results in March.