Discounting, inventory issues weigh on Rebel Sport
Discounts at Rebel Sport and lackluster sales at boating, camping and fishing chain BCF have hurt owners’ profitability.
Super Retail Group, which also owns Supercheap Auto and Macpac, announced a first-half net profit of $104 million on Thursday, down 20 percent from the same period in 2024.
Sales rose just over 4 percent to $2.2 billion; Same-store sales increased by 2.5 percent in the six months to December 27.
Chief executive Paul Bradshaw said the increase in group sales was a solid result given the challenging retail environment.
Supercheap Auto’s same-store sales rose 3.5 percent, while Macpac posted a similar sales increase of 7.8 percent.
Rebel’s same-store sales rose 3.8 per cent, but margins fell due to increased discount activity during the half-year, followed by availability issues as key suppliers failed to maintain enough stock to meet demand.
Mr Bradshaw said the team had been a reliable top performer and was meeting weekly with suppliers to stabilize stock availability.
“I would say we certainly have some targets here and that’s certainly where we’ll be focused at the moment,” Mr. Bradshaw said in an earnings briefing.
Stock losses at Rebel (industry jargon for theft) also remained high throughout the half-year, but the retailer said it had successfully managed to stem that upward trend.
Same-store sales also fell 1.6 percent in BCF; Mr Bradshaw said it was a disappointing performance.
So far in the first eight weeks of the second half, same-store sales have been stronger across all four brands, particularly Macpac, where sales rose 8.7 per cent.
Overall sales rose 5 percent, which RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Toner said was above consensus expectations.
Super Retail Group shares rose more than eight percent to $15.23 in afternoon trading.
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