KMD Brands, the owner of Kathmandu, Rip Curl, and Oboz, has announced a statutory loss of $NZ93.6 million for the full year. This comes despite a 1 per cent increase in sales, which reached $989 million. The company’s underlying net losses have widened to $28.3 million, a substantial increase from the $1.1 million loss reported the previous year. KMD Brands is a global outdoor, lifestyle and sports company. The company designs, markets and retails apparel, footwear and equipment in New Zealand, Australia, and overseas.
Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) plummeted by 64.7 per cent to $17.7 million. Gross margin also experienced a decline, falling from 58.4 per cent to 56.5 per cent. In light of the challenging trading conditions, the board has decided against declaring a final dividend.
Across KMD Brands’ portfolio, Rip Curl saw a sales increase of 2.1 per cent, reaching $550.4 million. Kathmandu experienced modest growth of 0.2 per cent, with sales of $361.9 million, while Oboz sales increased 3.5 per cent to $76.6 million. Chief executive Brent Scrimshaw acknowledged the “highly competitive trading environment” that defined FY25, but noted that August sales were up 10.5 per cent year-on-year, indicating a potential recovery.
Kathmandu same-store sales have shown positive momentum, rising 22 per cent in the first seven weeks of FY26. The group plans to implement a transformation strategy targeting $25 million in cost savings. This strategy includes new store concepts and an accelerated digital rollout, incorporating Shopify across all three brands.
