KMD Brands sales climb 7.9 percent as Kathmandu outperforms

The outdoor retail group announced on Feb. 2 that total sales for the period from August through December 2025 reached the growth target, with Kathmandu delivering a 12.9 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Same-store sales including online climbed 12.7 percent year-on-year at Kathmandu, reflecting continued momentum across both Australia and New Zealand markets.

Rip Curl posted a 5.6 percent sales increase for the five-month period, with particularly strong same-store performance in North America. Oboz footwear achieved 4.5 percent growth overall, though results showed greater variability with a 1.3 percent decline in the first quarter followed by 21 percent growth in the November-December period.

Margin pressure amid promotional environment

Group gross margin for the year-to-date period reached 56.7 percent, approximately 100 basis points below the prior year. The company attributed the compression to elevated promotional activity across the marketplace and ongoing efforts to optimize product mix while clearing aged inventory. The current gross margin sits above the second-half fiscal 2025 level.

Wholesale performance showed positive trends, with group wholesale sales up 9.4 percent above last year for the five-month period. Forward wholesale order books remain stable and slightly above prior-year levels, while in-season buying from key accounts has been positive.

Profitability rebounds despite currency headwinds

The group expects first-half underlying EBITDA to land between NZ$8 million (€4.4m) and NZ$11 million (€6.1m) – more than double the NZ$3.9 million (€2.2m) posted in the same period last year. The metric excludes lease accounting impacts, software-as-a-service costs, restructuring charges and non-cash items.

Net debt is forecast to climb to between NZ$85 million (€47m) and NZ$90 million (€50m) by end-January, up from NZ$76.2 million (€42m) a year earlier. Much of that increase stems from currency movement: the New Zealand dollar has weakened year-on-year, inflating the group’s debt when converted from other currencies.

Group CEO Brent Scrimshaw struck an upbeat tone, pointing to Kathmandu’s turnaround as validation of the company’s Next Level transformation plan. “Whilst we are still at the early stages of our transformation, we are encouraged by the improved performance of Kathmandu, with an adjusted flow of fresh innovation planned in the second half, which we believe will strengthen our ability to expand gross margin over time,” he said. “We continue to focus on optimising the balance between sales and gross margin whilst actively managing our inventory investment.”

Full first-half results are due March 25.

Note: Currency lifts reported sales by 2 percent Year-to-date sales received a roughly 2 percent boost from exchange rate movements when converting Rip Curl’s Australian dollar and Oboz’s US dollar results into the group’s New Zealand dollar reporting currency. Same-store sales figures are reported at constant exchange rates. More here.