News

Australians are tipped to spend around $18 billion on DIY projects, holiday travel, and festive treats this Easter season.

The Australian Retailers Association, in collaboration with Roy Morgan, identified the 2.4 per cent population growth to drive the higher Easter spending this year.

Australians are estimated to spend $6.3 billion on home improvement, down 0.5 per cent from the previous year, with average DIY expenditure to stand at $852 per person.

“Despite cost pressures, the lure of home improvement remains strong, with 7.8 million Australians undertaking projects, making it a bustling period for home and hardware retailers,” ARA CEO Paul Zahra said.

Meanwhile, confectionary spending is anticipated to surge 23.5 per cent to $2.05 billion as 17.3 million Australians plan to purchase Easter food and chocolate.

“Australia’s growing populace is driving the uptick in spending on Easter goodies, with the 18 to 34 demographic spending the most on such treats, reflecting the enduring appeal of Easter as a time of celebration and indulgence,” Zahra said.

In addition, travel spending is forecasted to rise 5 per cent to $9.6 billion, with a notable shift to overseas destinations. Around 53 per cent of the travelling Australians will take a holiday trip within their state while 34 per cent will go interstate and 13 per cent overseas.

Intrastate travel spending is predicted to drop 17 per cent to $2.3 million, while interstate travel spending is estimated to fall 2.8 per cent to $3.5 million. Overseas travel spending is expected to climb 26 per cent to $3.8 billion.

“While less Australians are holidaying, the overall spend is higher – those who have the money to spare and are less affected by the cost-of-living crunch, are still splashing out,” Zahra said.

After seasons of massive gains, athleisure clothing styles have plateaued on the runway. At this season’s ready-to-wear shows in New York, Milan and Paris, which drew to a close this week, ties, tailoring and trench coats took over from leggings, hoodies and bike shorts.

Closer to home, the Melbourne Fashion Festival is cheering the category on by enlisting Sydney label PE Nation for its Grand Showcase tonight. Further support comes with the runway debut of rising athleisure star R.Sport at the festival’s closing show.

This runway respite might not be enough. To stop athleisure from being pushed back into the gym changing room, Paul Burdekin, chief executive of The Upside, says that products need to find their fashion footing. This requires a step away from stretchy leggings into more structured styles.

“I think athleisure has had a very up and down consumer moment,” Burdekin says. “We are seeing consistent sales with our customers in the stretch category of tights and tops, but there is much faster growth in the lifestyle category.”

The label founded by Jodhi Meares in 2013 has expanded its collection of jackets, knitwear and pants.

“The response has been positive and we are happy with how business is progressing,” Burdekin says. “But this is still a head-down, bum-up environment.”

“We are thrilled to be increasing access to American Apparel for shoppers in Australia and New Zealand, who can now buy this iconic brand with just the click of a button,” said Chuck Ward, president of sales, marketing, and distribution at Gildan Activewear, the company that owns the American Apparel trademark.

“We will also be bringing our newest collections and styles of American Apparel to those markets and will be supporting the brand with our Craft the Culture campaign. With this campaign, we’re encouraging our customers to channel their creativity, express their individuality, and create timeless memories through our products.”

The new collection includes ReFlex lightweight fleece, Heavyweight cotton garment dyed t-shirt and muscle tee, Pique unisex mockneck t-shirt and matching unisex gym shorts, Sueded unisex t-shirt, and Unisex CVC henley t-shirt.

American Apparel’s staple items such as the 2001 Fine Jersey Unisex t-shirt and the 1301 Heavyweight Cotton Unisex t-shirt will also be available on the website.

The company’s products will remain available for wholesale purchase.

American Apparel is returning almost eight years after it closed its stores in Australia following its US bankruptcy.

Godfreys is set to disappear from the Australian retail landscape after administrators failed to find a buyer for the 93-year-old business.

The vacuum retailer, which collapsed in January after failing to stay relevant in a fast-paced retail environment, will begin winding down its remaining 87 stores and eventually let go of more than 600 staff.

PwC administrator Craig Crosbie said while he received 55 expressions of interest and six indicative offers, these were either withdrawn eventually or were not enough to keep the business alive.

“This is not the outcome Godfreys had hoped for following a rigorous process to find a purchaser for the business that could keep the store network trading,” he said in a statement.

“In the absence of any further bidders coming forward as intermittent trading continues, the process of closing all remaining stores will progress over the next eight weeks.”

Godfreys stores will remain open over the next two months to allow for the chance to clear existing stock before all stores are due to shut on May 31.

Franchisees will no longer receive support from Godfreys’ head office, where 25 staff have already been made redundant.

“We recognise this is a difficult time for staff, franchisees, and other stakeholders, and we will continue to work closely with all parties to ensure they are informed and supported over the coming weeks.”

Administrators have already shut 54 stores and axed nearly 200 jobs after taking over the business in late January.

The vacuum retailer was founded in 1931 by Godfrey Cohen and business partner John Johnston during the Great Depression and became renowned around the country for its memorable advertisements.

Over the years, however, Godfreys failed to keep up with innovation, missing out on the “stick” or cordless vacuum trend, in which retailers such as Harvey Norman and Bing Lee captured market share.

It also opened too many stores too quickly, which led to the retail chain becoming saddled with debt. The company also suffered from several changes to its structure and leadership.

Jane Allan, the daughter of late co-founder John Johnston, attributed the company’s recent woes to COVID-related disruption, a tougher economic environment and cost-of-living pressures.

Godfreys was sold to private equity in 2006 and listed on the ASX in 2014, but it saw high turnover, a revolving door of senior management and a perpetually sinking share price.

Johnston rescued the business twice over his lifetime, buying it back just in time for his 100th birthday in 2018 with the aim of delisting it, before he passed away later that year.

KMD Brands CEO and managing director Michael Daly has declared that improving Kathmandu’s sales performance is the company’s immediate priority following a 21.5 per cent revenue dive for the first half of FY24.

Kathmandu’s total sales dropped by $41.7 million to $152.3 million, with operating profits slipping from a positive $2.7 million in the first half of FY23 to negative $18 million in the first half of FY24.

Sales were down by 22.9 per cent in Australia and down 15.9 per cent in New Zealand.

Online sales plunged by more than a third (36.9 per cent) to $16.4 million, with KMD citing a return to stores following post-COVID transition. An online penetration at 10.9 per cent of direct-to-consumer sales remained above pre-COVID levels. 

Meanwhile, Kathmandu’s gross margin decreased by 240 bps (down 2.4 per cent of sales), driven by clearance of end of line products in August. 

Excluding August, gross margin for the period was down 50 bps (0.5 per cent of sales) lower year-on-year despite currency headwinds.

“In the second half, the group will be cycling less challenging sales performance last year, particularly Kathmandu in the fourth quarter,” Daly said. 

“Improving Kathmandu sales performance is our immediate priority as we approach the key winter trading period. We expect to see progress in the second half and into FY25 as we launch new innovative products, quick to market programmes, elevated visual merchandising, increased personalisation through the recently released ‘Out There Rewards’ and an expanded third-party brand strategy.”

KMD Brands’ two other businesses, Rip Curl and Oboz Footwear, also recorded revenue dives in the first half, driving a total revenue drop across all three brands of 14.5 per cent to $468.6 million.

Rip Curl sales dropped by 9.2 per cent to $278.3 million, cycling record sales last year. 

Direct-to-consumer sales including online decreased by 5 per cent, reflecting weakened consumer sentiment in key global markets, with KMD noting stronger results in Europe, Asia and South America. 

Online sales alone increased by 4.3 per cent and remains above pre-COVID levels. Wholesale sales decreased by 14.1 per cent, as wholesale accounts reduced their inventory holdings in response to the challenging consumer environment. 

Despite the challenging conditions, Rip Curl’s gross margin increased by 90 bps (0.9 per cent of sales) reflecting improved pricing and freight rates, plus exiting its low margin business in North America and Europe. 

Rip Curl’s operating profit (EBIT) also remained positive at $20.8 million despite a 34 per cent drop on the prior corresponding period.

Meanwhile, Oboz Footwear recorded a 20 per cent drop in revenue to $38 million, driven mostly by a wholesale sales decrease of 23.5 per cent, which was also impacted by stockists reducing inventory. 

Online sales boomed by 34.2 per cent, with KMD citing strategic promotional activity.. 

Gross margin increased 450 bps (4.5% of sales) reflecting lower freight rates, improved channel mix, improved pricing and new product introductions. 

Oboz continued to invest in brand, online and product to support long-term growth objectives - including international expansion. 

While the North American wholesale operating margin remained below historic levels, Oboz expects the operating expense investment to be leveraged with future sales growth opportunities.

First half sales trends have reportedly improved for all three brands as they begin the second half year. Group sales for February 2024 were down 3.5% on last year, noting that February is not a significant trading month.  

“We expect the wholesale customer inventory reduction cycle to end this financial year, giving us a more positive FY25 outlook in the wholesale channel for both Rip Curl and Oboz,” Daly said. 

“We believe that with our portfolio of iconic global outdoor brands and leadership in sustainability, we remain a unique investment proposition and well-placed for the future.”

Australian workforce management software maker Deputy has cracked the billion-dollar valuation milestone, with its first external investment in six years making it the first private technology “unicorn” company to emerge since the tech funding market soured in early 2022.

The more than doubling of its valuation since 2018, when it last raised capital, marks a major turnaround for the start-up. Deputy almost went bust during the COVID-19 lockdown era, when demand for its software, which helps shift workers communicate and organise their rosters, dropped dramatically.

It highlights a financial windfall for company founder Ashik Ahmed, who was first exposed to the need for better organisation of shift workers as a 16-year-old immigrant from Bangladesh, when he was flipping burgers at Hungry Jack’s.

He founded Deputy in 2008, alongside entrepreneur Steve Shelley who had spent years wrestling with inefficient ways of organising his staff at his former company Aerocare, which provided services to airline and freight companies such as cleaning and loading and offloading cargo.

The new investment was made by US-based Express Employment Professionals, a global staffing and labour hire company. Deputy initially engaged Express as a potential customer, but the company liked its product so much it decided to buy a $37 million stake, at a valuation exceeding $1.1 billion.

Myer shares rose more than 7 per cent after the department store unveiled a major shake-up of management, appointing former Qantas Loyalty chief executive Olivia Wirth as its executive chairwoman and announcing the exit of its chairman, Ari Mervis.

The company’s CEO, John King, flagged his retirement last year and will leave in early June. Mr King joined Myer in 2018 and has spent almost six years stabilising the business, which has been buffeted by a greater preference for online shopping and a shift among luxury brands to move away from concessions towards their own boutiques.

Mr King said Myer was now a “stable, successful business, which is now ready for the next phase of its growth” under Ms Wirth. “I’m enthusiastic about that, and I’m excited as a shareholder to watch the story unfold,” he said on Thursday.

“We have transitioned Myer into a stronger and more profitable business, culminating in last year’s strong financial performance, which included the best sales result in almost two decades.”

But the process to replace Mr King has been difficult, with industry sources suggesting that strain was the reason for Mr Mervis’ departure. He was appointed Myer’s chairman in November after the exit of JoAnne Stephenson.

Sources said  Solomon Lew had favoured Mark McInnes, the former CEO of ASX-listed Premier Investments. He was hired by another billionaire rag trader, Brett Blundy, who has stakes in Adairs, Lovisa and Accent Group, and holdings in discount clothing chain Best & Less and lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret.

Mr Lew’s Premier Investments, which owns Smiggle, Peter Alexander and other leading retail brands, owns about 29 per cent of Myer. Mr Lew has separately appointed UBS to review Premier Investments’ businesses, which could lead to the spin-off of some of its holdings into separate ASX-listed vehicles.

Ms Wirth and former long-time Premier Investments director Gary Weiss joined the Myer board in October. On Thursday, Dr Weiss was appointed deputy chairman.

Ms Wirth brings a wealth of experience in a growth area for Myer in data and analytics after running Qantas Loyalty until earlier this year. She missed out on the top job at the national carrier after Alan Joyce’s departure as CEO last year.

“The board felt at the next stage of the journey of the customer first plan, this was the structure of the business of this time,” Mr King said.

“Olivia is a great executive, a great leader. The airline industry is one of the most customer service industries around – our business is all about customer and focus, so it doesn’t matter whether you’re selling an airline ticket or a dress, all the principles are still the same.”

Long-serving Myer head of stores Tony Sutton has been elevated to chief operating officer. He will report to Ms Wirth, who takes up her role as chairwoman immediately and will assume chief executive responsibilities from June 4.

Best to separate chair and executive positions

Myer shares were 7.5 per cent higher on Thursday afternoon at 86¢, their highest level since May. That gave the company a market capitalisation of about $711 million.

But Simon Connal, the co-founder of Ownership Matters, which advises institutional investors, said it was better governance to separate the chair and executive positions.

“Corporate governance principles in Australia favour the chair and CEO roles to be separated,” he said. “Such practice promotes the separation of the board and management, given the most senior position is that of the chair. At last count, there were 15 executive chairs in the ASX 300, so it is not typical in Australia.”

Mr Mervis was last year appointed chairman of Endeavour Group, which operates the Dan Murphy’s and BWS bottle shop chains. He is also the chairman of consumer products group McPherson’s. He did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday.

At Qantas, Ms Wirth oversaw the expansion of the Frequent Flyer program to generate more than $500 million in annual earnings, $2 billion in revenue and a membership of 15.8 million. Previously, she was the airline’s chief customer officer and head of corporate affairs. From June 4, Ms Wirth’s base annual salary will be $1.25 million.

Myer said on Thursday that profits in the 26 weeks to January 27 were $52 million, down from $65 million a year ago. The period was dented by discounting and higher costs, the company said.

Sales fell 3 per cent to $1.829 billion. Online sales were $390.1 million, or 21.3 per cent of total sales, an increase of 2 per cent on the prior period.

The company declared an interim dividend of 3¢ a share, down from 4¢ a year ago.

Myer also confirmed a report in The Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk column last month that KPMG had been hired to run a strategic review, which includes a possible sale of Sass & Bide, Marcs and David Lawrence. Myer bought a controlling stake in Sass & Bide for $42.4 million in 2011 and has sought to sell all three brands previously.

Bunnings has been named the most trusted brand for the year to December, dethroning Woolworths and ending the supermarket’s three-and-a-half-year dominance. 

Bunnings lost the title of Australia’s most trusted brand to Woolworths in May 2020. However, beginning October 2022, Bunnings has made a strong comeback, drawing the greatest increase in confidence among all those on the trusted brands list.

‘Bunnings is a brand with a vast reservoir of goodwill and reputational strength fed by dramatically more trust than distrust… its trust has been climbing steadily over the past year while its minimal distrust remains fairly stable,” said Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine. 

According to Roy Morgan, Australians’ distrust of businesses has increased in recent years due to corporate greed, bad customer service, high prices, dishonesty, unethical tactics, and inadequate privacy policies.

Woolworths (2nd) and Coles (5th) have both dropped in the rankings of trustworthy brands. Aldi (3rd), Kmart (4th), and Bunnings (1st) all improved by one position.

Shares in small appliance maker Breville fell more than 10 per cent as investors punished the stock for weaker than expected first-half sales as it sacrificed promotions to preserve margins.

While interim earnings were slightly ahead of consensus, investors were not impressed. The stock fell $2.97, or 10.87 per cent, to $24.35.

Group revenue rose 2 per cent to $905.8 million or about 5 per cent below consensus estimates of $955.1 million. Earnings before interest and tax gained 8 per cent to $131 million, about 2 per cent ahead of broker forecasts. Net profit advanced 6.7 per cent to $84 million.

Chief executive Jim Clayton indicated to investors that the company did not participate as heavily in discounting during the half. Breville was also hurt by the closure of US retailer Bed Bath & Beyond, which filed for bankruptcy in April.

Breville’s food appliances were a drag on revenue growth in a solid half for coffee machines.

Mr Clayton said he expected the subdued economic climate to persist through the second half but hoped to counter that with product launches.

“In this uncertain environment the group will continue to focus on gross profit dollars while continuing to invest for medium-term growth,” Mr Clayton said. “For FY24 we expect to deliver EBIT growth of 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent,” he said.

Barrenjoey analyst Tom Kierath said while the inventory unwind and net debt reduction to $97.5 million at balance date was positive, he still called the results “slightly disappointing given the revenue miss”.

Jarden analyst Ben Gilbert highlighted the attention on gross margin: “Breville look to have stepped away from low margin sales and have flagged a strong new product development pipeline and improving working capital.”

Mr Gilbert said forecast EBIT growth was in line with expectations of 7 per cent, putting the emphasis on the top-line recovery.

Breville’s major shareholder is Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments, which controls 25.6 per cent of the group.

An interim dividend of 16¢ per share was declared, up from 15¢, to be paid on March 28.

JB Hi-Fi boss Terry Smart says the stage three tax cuts and the apparent peak in the Reserve Bank of Australia’s cash rate will provide relief for retailers which are fighting it out for sales to counter a broader slowdown in spending.

The retailer, whose shares reset a record high on Monday of $60.58, up more than 7 per cent, vowed to keep improving productivity given the rising bills it faces from wages, Victorian payroll taxes and utilities.

JB’s Hi-Fi’s low-cost operating model helped it to a better-than-expected first-half result. A lesser reliance on casuals for rostering in stores and its ability to bulk-buy from suppliers underwrote competitive shelf prices and tech deals.

The company beat forecasts delivering first-half sales of $5.16 billion, and achieving a smaller-than-anticipated top-line decline of 2.2 per cent. Interim net profit fell nearly 20 per cent to $264.3 million, also better than feared.

The second half started on solid footing, with January salesat JB Hi-Fi Australia up 2.5 per cent, or, on a comparable basis, growth was 1.7 per cent higher last month. JB Hi-Fi New Zealand sales grew 8.2 per cent, but fell 4.1 per cent on the comparable sales measure. Turnover at The Good Guys fell 2.2 per cent last month, with same-store sales down the same amount.

Mr Smart called the environment “challenging” but argued the major categories the group trades in are “necessities” and not discretionary items. The group is also capitalising on the tech replacement cycle for items like laptops.

While JB Hi-Fi will have an easier time cycling second-half performance, Mr Smart said the economy was the source of encouraging news on inflation, pending tax cuts and the apparent stabilisation of interest rates.

“Anything that can help improve consumer confidence will be beneficial to us so, we hope that all the good economic news continues,” he told The Australian Financial Review.

JB Hi-Fi is the latest retailer to keep the soft landing alive after Nick Scali, Myer and Cettire smashed bombed out expectations last week.

First-half earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) reached $386.7 million, topping consensus estimates for a 24.2 per cent fall to $363 million.

Mr Smart underlined the focus on costs, striking a tricky balance as JB Hi-Fi strives for effective customer service to bank sales, while keeping wages under control. As shoppers research prices more online, this creates faster transactions in-store, boosting staff productivity, Mr Smart said.

“We just have to get staff (in store) right as it has such a big influence on the whole cost base, so anything else we do would just be around the edges,” he said. “We are always very considered before putting new roles into the corporate office, so there’s not a lot that we could do there.”

Cost of doing business represented 11.9 per cent of sales, up from 11.4 per cent in the prior half.

Discounting dents margins

Sales at the more than 220 JB Hi-Fi stores in Australia were up just 0.7 per cent to $3.62 billion in the period, with comparable sales virtually flat. Higher discounting dented its gross margin, which fell 84 basis points to 22 per cent.

EBIT in the Australian electronics business fell 13.7 per cent to $294.6 million.

Mr Smart said inventory availability had improved in key categories like PS5, Xbox and small appliances, with its stock position 3.9 per cent lower to $1.16 billion at balance date.

Sales at JB Hi-Fi NZ increased 5.1 per cent to $NZ168.7 million ($159 million), while sales fell by 9.9 per cent to $1.39 billion at The Good Guys.

Mr Smart said The Good Guys has a dominant position with families and first time homebuyers, where margins held up as it sold more mobile plans, and achieved good growth in large and small appliances and flooring.

The group did not provide any full-year earnings guidance, but many analysts expect upgrades. Barrenjoey analyst Tom Kierath said the January update was solid, with the company evidently managing costs tightly.

“They had a bit less labour in store than they would like in The Good Guys. So it seems like they ran it pretty lean,” he said.

“JB is not doing anything new, it is just a well managed business. There is not a lot of fat to cut. The additional research by customers means people are coming in store and just buying – there is no haggling. If that trend continues, then that definitely helps them from the labour cost side.”

Based on Mr Kierath’s numbers, labour costs in Australia are up 6.5 per cent an hour on average.

JB Hi-Fi chief financial officer Nick Wells downplayed a class action it was defending in the Supreme Court of Victoria relating to the sale of extended warranties in JB Hi-Fi Australia. No provision was taken related to the dispute.

“We firmly believe that we haven’t done anything wrong, and we take our legal obligation very seriously,” he said.

Nick Scali shares rallied to a two-year high after the furniture retailer reported growth in its order book last month, and Myer advanced on better-than-expected sales, countering the doom that has encircled households leading up to the peak of the interest rate cycle.

Chief executive Anthony Scali said foot traffic was up in most states where Nick Scali trades over the past few months, indicating consumer sentiment may be more positive.

Consumer confidence will get a further boost if shoppers believe that interest rates have stabilised, he said. He is also betting that the Labor government’s tax cuts will help consumption, and housing indicators are improving, too.

“I think the tax cuts and rate cuts will certainly help consumer confidence. That could be good for our business being in retail,” Mr Scali told The Australian Financial Review.

Nick Scali shares rocketed up 16.5 per cent to $14 each after it exceeded first-half profit guidance, posting a 29 per cent fall to $43 million in the six months to December 31, topping its forecast of $40 million to $42 million. Interim sales fell 20.2 per cent to $226.6 million and gross margin was robust at 65.6 per cent.

Mr Scali said other retailers would be watching the RBA, which kept the cash rate on hold at 4.35 per cent on Tuesday but retained its tightening bias, saying more rate rises may be necessary.

“We are definitely positive on sectors exposed to the economy coming into this reporting season as we believe that analyst forecasts are too low and valuations are attractive,” WAM Capital lead small caps portfolio manager Oscar Oberg said.

Shares in department store Myer gained 14.29 per cent to 76¢ on Tuesday, after its sales update proved better than feared. Myer forecast interim sales down 3 per cent $1.829 billion, or flat on a same-store basis. First-half net profit for the 26 weeks ended January 27 will be $49 million-$53 million, albeit dented by more discounting and inflationary cost pressures.

“If people believe that interest rates have peaked, I think that should help consumer sentiment because they know where they are in terms of what they can afford to buy spend,” Mr Scali said. Month-to-month store visit trends have improved, with traffic up 10 per cent in November and December, and up 4 per cent in January – the biggest sales month of the year.

Mr Scali said written orders were “solid” for the half at $212.7 million, up 1.1 per cent on the prior corresponding period; like-for-like orders were flat. Booked orders across both the Nick Scali and Plush brands in the second quarter were 8.2 per cent higher than a year ago, with November and December trading particularly strong.

The positive momentum continued into January when Nick Scali booked $58.9 million in orders, up 3.6 per cent on a year ago, and same-store sales up 2.6 per cent. Mr Scali said January was driven by volume growth with the average selling price down 6 per cent to 7 per cent.

Nick Scali declared a flat fully franked interim dividend of 35¢ a share, payable on March 26.

The company needs to fast track a planned store roll-out, the CEO said, noting site availability for Nick Scali was proving more difficult and rents were holding back the expansion of the Plush business. It has 64 Nick Scali stores and 44 Plush sites. Long-term, it aims to have 86 Nick Scali stores and 90 to 100 Plush stores in Australia and New Zealand.

The untangling of the freight situation is helping after the DP World strike was resolved, ending months of industrial action congesting ports.

“My sense is the ships will come back, which they will, and the supply will increase, and therefore there shouldn’t be too much pressure on lines,” Mr Scali said.

Jarden analysts said Nick Scali’s result was strong in a tough market, while Citi analysts argued the better-than-expected interim profit should be positive for investor sentiment.

WAM’s Mr Oberg said consumer-facing stocks have trailed the recovery seen in other sectors over the past six months, and the market was positioned much too bearish.

“The expectations in the market from the analysts covering both of those companies were factoring in negative outcomes around sales and gross margins. Things have turned out through October, November, December to be a lot better than people expected,” he said.

Further, Mr Oberg said Myer’s sales update was a tremendous result in the circumstances: “To get a flat top line result and then to see it improve through November, December versus their AGM update was really strong. That bodes well for the remainder of the year,” he said.

“Myer is still generating well over $50 million in profit, has minimal debt and is paying very strong dividends. It’s on a very low valuation, so it just feels like a matter of time before the market wakes up.”

Myer is looking for a new CEO to succeed John King, whose planned exit is in June.

Myer has reported a 3% decline in total sales for the first half of FY24 to $1.8 billion.

Myer now expects first half net profit after tax (NPAT) to be between $49 million and $53 million, which is down from $65 million reported the same time last year.

The NPAT guidance includes the impact of store closures and inflationary cost pressures.

Myer’s group online sales are expected to be $390.1 million, an increase of 2% on the first half of FY23 and representing 21.3% of total sales. 

The group’s comparable sales are up 0.1% on the prior corresponding period.

Myer CEO John King said the sector is navigating a number of economic hurdles. 

“Like many retailers, we have had to contend with inflationary pressures and greater promotional cadence, which has had an impact on profits,” King said.

“Our focus remains on seeking to drive further and sustainable cost efficiencies and inventory management. 

“We expect the consumer to remain cautious in the second half of FY24 but believe we remain well positioned with the strength of our leading loyalty program, our national distribution centre starting to scale and the continued roll out of successful brand extensions and new additions.”

The total inventory at Myer is expected to be lower than the same time last year.

Myer anticipates releasing its complete first half results during March 2024, following the completion of financial close procedures, board approval and completion of the half year review by the company’s auditors. 

The board is also continuing its search for a new chief executive officer and expects to update the market on progress in due course. 

Short sellers are under pressure after better-than-expected results from discount jewellery retailer Lovisa Holdings sent the stock soaring to all-time highs this morning.

The retail chain, which is backed by billionaire Brett Blundy, posted sales growth of 18.2 per cent to $373 million in the first half, underpinned by growth in its global store network, topping market expectations. Lovisa posted a 12 per cent rise in net profit to $53.5 million in the 26-week to the end of December.

Shares rallied 10 per cent following the result, pushing the stock above $27 apiece for the first time since listing in 2014.

The share rally arrives after sort sellers piled into the stock at the highest level in almost four years ahead of the results. Hedge funds betting against the stock make up about 4 per cent of the share float, the most since 2020, when short positions topped 7 per cent amid sweeping pandemic-induced store closures and a global retail slump.

Shorts against Lovisa started to rise around November when the retailer reported a 6.2 per cent drop in same-store sales during its expansion effort in the US and China. That missed market expectations, fuelling shareholder concerns about chief executive Victor Herrero’s $30 million salary.

Short positions have accelerated in the lead-up to the retailer’s half-year report and now amount to about $100 million – the highest level in dollar terms since the stock listed almost a decade ago.

“Expectations are very high coming into this result,” a local long-short fund manager, who is betting against the stock and was not authorised to speak publicly about the trade, told The Australian Financial Review ahead of the results.

“It’s been priced for perfection,” the fund manager, citing the stock’s historically high share price, mounting global headwinds for retailers and declining same-store sales as the reasons behind the fund’s short bet.

In the half-year report released on Thursday, comparable store sales fell 4.4 per cent compared to a year ago. The retailer’s store rollout program was also slower than expected, as well, with 854 stores as at December 31, behind UBS estimates.

“Some of the new stores may not be achieving the level of economics that the market analysts have been expecting,” the short-seller said.

Analysts had become increasingly divided on the Lovisa stock as the half-year report approached. UBS downgraded Lovisa to neutral last month, noting that the shares had rallied substantially (up 48 per cent) since November and pointing to growing signs that the store rollout was losing steam.

Jarden, which upgraded the stock to a buy in November, has held firm on its valuation, even as its analyst Ed Woodgate cautioned that investors should be “buying for the long term” as there “may be surprises before then”.

“Like every other retailer, Lovisa is facing a tough consumer environment,” he said in a note this month.

“While the trading update may be weak as Lovisa has to cycle one more period of strength and the net store rollout may disappoint, we expect investors will start to look long term once the worst of the bad news is in the rearview.”

Funds are divided, too

Funds also appear similarly divided on the stock. Hyperion, ECP Asset Management and Fidelity are among those holdings large long positions, based on recent filings.

QVG’s Chris Prunty, who counts the stock among the largest holdings in the firm’s long-short fund, is bullish on the outlook.

“We like Lovisa because the return on capital on new stores is very high, and they have a long runway to open stores in existing markets like the US and new ones like China,” he said.

“We understand the market has some concerns around the generosity of the CEO’s remuneration package, but we believe that if he can replicate half the success he had as Zara’s head of APAC, then he will have been underpaid,” he said.

The Lovisa short-seller estimated the stock could slip as much as 30 per cent – should the fund’s thesis behind the short play out.

“What we’ve seen with companies on high multiples in the past is that when you start to see cracks in the business, the market tends to be a bit more forgiving, until the cracks become the crevices,” the short-seller said, citing Domino’s Pizza and Pro Medicus as two stocks to have suffered this fate in recent weeks.

Had Clare Waight Keller possessed more of an ego, she might have been the first female creative director at Gucci.

“When Christopher [Bailey] left, Tom [Ford] and I had a conversation about me stepping up,” says the British designer from her home in London. Gucci’s then creative director offered Waight Keller Bailey’s old role as head of womenswear, widely considered a stepping stone to the top job.

But Waight Keller turned him down. “In the end I said no. I didn’t want to fail. I still felt like I was learning a lot.”

Instead, Waight Keller did things her way, leaving Gucci to becoming artistic director at the cashmere brand Pringle of Scotland in 2005.

“I guess I didn’t have a big ego,” she says of the decision [which, yes, she questioned after the fact]. “I wanted [the job], but I wanted it at the right time.”

Timing has been something of a recurring theme in Waight Keller’s career: she has seemed, somehow, to always be at the right spot at the right time, from landing at Calvin Klein in the early 1990s to now, designing a capsule collection for the Japanese fashion giant Uniqlo.

Bringing her intelligent and classic designs to the mass-market brand, Waight Keller has once again hit on a zeitgeisty intersection: this time, affordability and quality.

The collection, called UNIQLO : C, features a range of seemingly simple, infinitely wearable pieces – trench coats, turtlenecks, quilted jackets, wide-legged pants and combat boots.

Waight Keller, a long-time Uniqlo customer (“I’m a fan since they started with Jil Sander”), was drawn to the opportunity to work with the Japanese brand, and also with another culture. “Japan is an incredible place, and so different from the West. There’s a perfectionist nature but also a sense of respect for technique, craft and the working process. That really appealed to me,” she says.

Though Waight Keller has spent much of her career designing for luxury houses – at Chloé and then at Givenchy, where she designed the Duchess of Sussex’s wedding gown – she says the pace offered by Uniqlo is, somewhat paradoxically, slower than any of the Parisian brands she’s worked for.

“Luxury revolves around shows, and shows happen every three months,” she says speaking over the phone from her home in London. “You are in this very compacted time schedule – there’s a pre-collection, men’s, women’s, couture. You’re working on three seasons at a time, managing all these different teams.”

At Uniqlo, each collection takes six months to create, an almost absurdly luxurious amount of time. “It allows you to explore different fabrics, different techniques. You can finetune ideas. It’s an amazing laboratory.”

This collection – launching this week – is just the first in a series; she is currently at work on the fourth.

Waight Keller is one of the most admired designers of the past two decades. Timing has been on her side, yes, but she has also made a virtue of patience, believing preparation to be the key to success.

“I don’t like to fail,” she says. “I want to be really prepared. I don’t want to be in a position where I can’t deliver. I could observe other people’s mistakes without making them myself.”

The Birmingham-born designer started her career at Calvin Klein at nearly the precise moment a young Kate Moss was hired to be the face of the brand. “She would come in for fittings, and she would sit on the floor reading what looked like schoolbooks,” says Waight Keller. “She seemed so shy and tiny and we’d think, ‘Really, this girl is a model?’ But then you look at her and put her in the clothes and she’s incredible.”

At Ralph Lauren, she learnt the art of conviction from Lauren himself. “I hate to say ‘traditional’, but there was definitely so much of that rooted in what Ralph is all about,” she says. “It’s so underrated but it’s part of what has made his empire so incredible and given it longevity.”

It was an “amazing thing to observe,” she says. Most designers yield to trends in one way or another, she adds, but “he’s not interested”.

Timing was her friend at Gucci, too, under the masterful direction of Tom Ford, who was tasked with revitalising the once-sleepy brand in the 1990s. During Ford’s enormously successful reign, Gucci was “all about sex,” says Waight Keller.

“It wasn’t very me,” she admits, “but I learnt so much just by being there.”

When Waight Keller became artistic director at Givenchy (the first woman to do so at the brand), she was part of a wave of young female designers taking on the top jobs at storied maisons: Phoebe Philo as creative director of Celine in 2008, Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen in 2010, Maria Grazia Chiuri at Dior (2016), Virginie Viard at Chanel (2019), Gabriela Hearst at Chloé (late 2020). Now, only Chiuri and Viard remain.

“It’s disappointing,” Waight Keller says plainly. “I really believe women bring so much to the industry. I find it unfortunate that so many women work at lower ranks of the industry. At most of the companies I worked for, 70 to 80 per cent of the workforce was women, but the top 20 per cent was almost always men.

“That’s really difficult to fathom at this point. That we should still be talking about inequality in what is essentially a women’s business… I can’t really get my head around that.”

For Waight Keller, the Uniqlo collection will mark the second-most public outing she has had as a designer. In 2018, when she had just taken on the role of artistic director at Givenchy, a new client came to her: Meghan Markle, soon to be the Duchess of Sussex. It was, she says, “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”.

“As a British person it was a huge, incredible honour,” she says. “It was done in secrecy and it was a monumental thing when I was still very new.” She won’t divulge more, citing Chatham House rules, but adds that the social media impact was “mind-blowing”.

Though Uniqlo audiences are vastly different to the couture clients she worked with at Givenchy, the brief is much the same.

“I brought back couture to Givenchy because I really felt that it would give the creativity and the burst of ideas that would help filter through the rest of the collections,” she says. “And honestly, I feel that way at Uniqlo.

“Couture at Givenchy was one of the happiest places I have ever worked because it was a small and very skilled group of people, where you could be free and play.”

Somewhat bizarrely, she says Uniqlo is similar.

“All the prototypes come 80 to 90 per cent perfect,” she says. “There is a cultural pride in everything they do. They never present anything unless it’s the best they can make it. This price point is a very different parameter to work in, but there is one designer there who says to me, ‘If it’s 99 per cent there, we still push for the one per cent.’”

The 2024 Australian Retail Outlook is out now. This must-read resource is packed with exclusive insights from Inside Retail’s survey of retailers about their performance, plans and predictions for the year ahead; trend analyses and advice from industry experts; and interviews with leading retailers, including Ikea, Lush, Outland Denim, Milligram, and many more, about their growth strategies in 2024 and beyond.

To give you a glimpse of what you can expect from this year’s report, we are sharing selected articles over the coming weeks. Be sure to download the 2024 Australian Retail Outlook to discover more.

Angus McKay, CEO & managing director, 7-Eleven 

KPMG: What do you see as the greatest challenge to Australian retail in the year ahead? Is this a new challenge vs prior years?

Angus McKay: One of the challenges that will continue into next year is being able to demonstrate value to our customers. There’s no doubt customers are becoming more price-sensitive, so as a retailer, we have to make sure that our customers see that we are providing value.

That can come in the form of special offers, co-buy promotions or rewards for loyalty. The search for value is no better demonstrated than by the uptake of the Fuel Price Lock feature of our My 7-Eleven app, which has just had a 27 per cent year-on-year increase of users. In this case, the extra value for the customer comes when they link the app to Velocity Frequent Flyer rewards.

KPMG: What is a key investment area or opportunity for retail to thrive in over the next two to five years?

AM: There are two areas where we will continue to invest over the medium term – digital enablement and sustainability. 

On digital, we want to make things easier for our customers to play with us. We don’t want to create clutter and noise, we aim for quality over quantity. This means we must be smart about how we interact with our customers. The key will be to use data with precision so what you offer them matches customer needs and wants. 

In the sustainability space, work will continue around packaging and recycling, along with the sustainability of some ingredients in our own branded products.

John Gualtieri, CEO, Kmart and Target ANZ

KPMG: What do you see as the greatest challenge to Australian retail in the year ahead? Is this a new challenge vs prior years? 

John Gualtieri: In the current economic climate, with its high cost-of-living pressures, many Australian households are feeling significant pressures on their income. Value imperative is a growing influence on customer behaviour and will continue to be a driver in our industry for some time.

Retail has always needed to adapt to the evolving needs of consumers. While value is of increasing importance, it’s also becoming apparent that consumers expect retail to deliver access to great products at great prices.

This shift in consumer mindset expectations presents a significant opportunity and challenge for retail brands in Australia. For Kmart and Target, this trend aligns naturally with our ethos as a business. 

As an Australian, design-based product development company of our size and scale of operations, we deliver the lowest-cost product development, production and distribution model, which means we can continue to consistently deliver better products at lower prices. 

With our size also comes a responsibility to make a positive contribution towards a sustainable future. The retail industry’s focus on sustainability will continue to be a key priority that we take on collectively.

Waste is a huge challenge, and one that we need to develop a collective and sustainable response towards as an entire industry. This next phase will require an unparalleled level of partnership within the retail sector – from suppliers to customers as well as peer retailers, global sustainability partners and governments – to develop a solution at scale that is fit for purpose and delivers sustainable solutions to the problem. 

KPMG: What is a key investment area or opportunity for retail to thrive in over the next two to five years?

JG: Data will continue to be a key investment for retail and will help us unlock new levels of value creation – that will ultimately benefit consumers.

Data can deliver efficiencies in operations, but the real value is in using it carefully to drive growth and deliver an augmented customer experience through things like enhanced design capability, product availability and personalisation, as well as automation that drives better efficiencies, and ultimately a better customer experience as a result. 

The recent establishment of our distribution centre in New Zealand with automated product sorters and an automated inventory management system highlights the efficiency gains that are possible. These advancements liberate our team members from time-consuming manual tasks.

AI stands before us as another seismic shift for our sector, the potential of which we are only beginning to understand. The introduction of our AI-powered live Chatterbot marks the beginning of a new journey in this space. This tool is engineered to engage in end-to-end conversations with our customers, leading to an enhanced customer experience.

Scott Fyfe, CEO, David Jones

KPMG: What do you see as the greatest challenge to Australian retail in the year ahead? Is this a new challenge vs prior years? 

Scott Fyfe: In 2024, the economic headwinds facing Australian retail are likely to be onerous. Inflationary pressures will continue to impact consumer behaviours and whilst these challenges aren’t entirely new, their interconnected nature demands a heightened level of strategic agility and innovation from retailers to propel them forward.

KPMG: What is a key investment area or opportunity for retail to thrive in over the next two to five years? 

SF: Seamlessly integrating innovation across the value chain and crafting unforgettable customer journeys will be the currency of success. This will propel retail businesses beyond transactional exchanges, into a future of lasting connections and sustainable growth.

Daniel Bracken, CEO, Michael Hill

KPMG: What do you see as the greatest challenge to Australian retail in the year ahead? Is this a new challenge vs prior years? 

Daniel Bracken: For the next six to 12 months, the biggest challenge for retail will no doubt be a low level of consumer confidence, driven by high-interest rates and economic concerns. Add to this the challenge of increasing operating costs from labour, occupancy and COGS.

KPMG: What is a key investment area or opportunity for retail to thrive in over the next two to five years? 

DB: Retailers need to continue to invest in digital, data and customer insights. But also physical in-store environments need to keep pace with the expectations of customers.

Assaulting a retail worker in Western Australia could attract a jail term of up to seven years under proposed legislation, bringing the state in line with tough penalties in NSW, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Under the proposed laws the maximum penalty for assaulting retail workers will be seven years imprisonment or three years and a fine of $36,000 if dealt with summarily.

Under the change the maximum penalty increases from 18 months imprisonment and a fine of $18,000.

Labor is seeking to curb increased rates of violence against retail workers which records show have doubled over the past two years.

Labor is seeking to curb increased rates of violence against retail workers which records show have doubled over the past two years.

"All retail workers, whether they're a casual in their first job or doing the night shift at the local convenience store, have a right to feel safe at work," Mr Zahra said.

"No one deserves to be spat on, threatened with weapons, intimidated or harassed for simply doing their job. People who engage in these types of behaviours are committing a crime - it's a simple as that. "

The chief executive of Wesfarmers says high inflation will see shoppers continue to look for value after Kmart’s budget home brand Anko boosted the retail conglomerate’s half-year profits.

Wesfarmers boss Rob Scott said customers’ appetite for more affordable products was prompting the company to try and expand low-price offerings despite “persistent” inflation driving up its wages and payroll tax, as well as costs for electricity, utilities, rent and insurances.

“It’s costing business more to operate. Then that has the risk of blowing through to prices, or at the minimum, stopping prices from coming down,” Scott told this masthead. “If domestic cost pressures stay higher for longer, that is going to continue to place more pressure on households.”

The ASX-listed retail giant, which also owns the Officeworks and Bunnings chains, on Thursday said its net profit rose 3 per cent to $1.4 billion in the six months to December 31, the first half of the financial year.

Overall revenue ticked up 0.5 per cent to $22.7 billion, thanks to Kmart’s 4.8 per cent revenue lift to nearly $6 billion, while sales at catch.com.au and the company’s chemicals and fertiliser division disappointed.

The result beat market expectations, sending Wesfarmers’ shares more than 4 per cent higher.

Kmart’s earnings jumped 26.5 per cent to a record high of $601 million following strong demand for its Anko range (which represents 85 per cent of store products) and women’s and youth clothing.

The discount chain’s beauty and home storage products were also performing well, and helped lure in younger customers. Meanwhile, furniture sales have softened as the lockdown-driven demand to upgrade home furnishings declined.

Kmart boss Ian Bailey, who gave a presentation on the Australian business at a US conference in January, said he was in “half a dozen conversations” with US and European retailers about stocking Anko products, but it was “very early days”.

The discount department store has dropped prices on some 1300 products over the past six months, and said it would keep a focus on reducing its operating costs amid higher inflation, supply-chain costs and staff shortages.

Taking a leaf out of Kmart’s book, Bunnings has also pivoted to focus on private label and affordable product offerings, which resulted in more foot traffic to stores, bigger basket sizes and more items sold in the December half. Its revenues increased 1.7 per cent in the period, with online sales rising 5.1 per cent.

Bunnings’ move to expand its cleaning and pet ranges also won customers eager to save by bulk-buying.

Officeworks’ 1.8 per cent growth in revenue to $1.7 billion in the half was driven by demand for stationery, art and school supplies, and tech products, while sales for office furniture declined.

Scott said the strategy of everyday low pricing at Kmart, Officeworks and Bunnings – rather than the high-low pricing approach of the supermarket giants, which leans on discounts and promotional periods – had resonated with customers, even as they increasingly wait for sales events such as Black Friday.

“Interestingly, we found that our everyday low prices were resonating really well through Black Friday,” Scott said.

Catch.com.au was the most significant drag on Wesfarmers’ result, with revenue slumping nearly 38 per cent as the website slashed unprofitable product lines to focus on higher-demand categories. The online marketplace is expected to be unprofitable for the entire financial year, though losses in the second half are expected to be less than the first half.

WesCEF, the ASX giant’s chemicals, energy and fertiliser business, saw its sales fall by 21 per cent amid volatility in the price of lithium, which has dropped due to oversupply, softer demand from China, and lower US electric vehicle sales.

Wesfarmers will pay a fully franked interim dividend of 91 cents per share, representing a 3.4 per cent uptick on the same time last year.

Looking at the current half, Wesfarmers said Kmart has “continued to deliver strong sales growth” during January and the first week of February, while Bunnings’ and Officeworks’ sales were “broadly in line” with the same period last year.

MST Marquee senior research analyst Craig Woolford described Kmart’s result as “outstanding” and noted that Wesfarmers’ operating cash flow of $2.9 billion, an uptick of 47 per cent, was “very good”.

“Wesfarmers has delivered a good result driven by cost control and Kmart,” he wrote in a note to clients. However, he noted some weakness in revenue from new Bunnings stores.

Analysts from Jarden said the half-year figures were “another quality result”.

Custom blinds and curtains retailer DIYblinds has appointed Peter Mitchley-Hughes as its new CEO.

Prior to the new role, Mitchley-Hughes served as GM of digital and consumer technology at Bunnings and as MD at Country Road Group.

He also held senior leadership roles at Myer, Target Australia, and Marks and Spencer.

“As a customer myself, I admired DIYblinds’ disruptive influence, so much so I could not resist
the opportunity to lead this incredible business where we can utilise new technologies to meet
and exceed our customer’s ever-changing needs,” said Mitchley-Hughes.

In addition, the company has named co-founder Evan Montero as chief growth officer while co-founder Liam Dobson will continue as a director.

The new appointments come as the company scales up and expands its new division HomePro, following the Australian Business Growth Fund positioning as a minority investor in 2022.

PLBY Group CEO Ben Kohn has confirmed the company is preparing to sell off Honey Birdette - the Australian lingerie retailer it acquired for USD$333 million in 2021. 

Kohn shared the news at a business conference earlier this month.

“Long-term, Honey Birdette doesn’t belong as part of this company, and at the right time, we will sell it,” Kohn confirmed. “But right now, the business is performing very well. 

“We talked about that in our Q3 results - the month of October - we’ve seen those trends continue, and we’ve also made other operational improvements. But we’re focused on Playboy and really returning that to the experiential lifestyle brand that it was.”

The news comes as Honey Birdette recorded revenue losses throughout 2023. In the third quarter of 2023, the lingerie brand recorded a US$4.1 million loss in sales - or AU$6.23 million. 

It also comes as PLBY Group began consolidating its assets by selling off two of its other subsidiaries - sexual wellness brand Lovers and another lingerie brand Yandy.

Until the commencement of a sale, Kohn said he and the team are re-evaluating opening new stores in 2024 given Honey Birdette’s performance.

“Honey Birdette had a tough first half of the year, but the improvements we’ve made are there,” he said. “We’re seeing the results from it. And at the right time, we will sell a part or all of that asset.”

According to Kohn, when it bought the business back in August of 2021, Honey Birdette had a ton of inventory on order by the previous owner, driving long lead times on inventory. The other key challenge was that, once the deal was signed, many Australian states went back into lockdown.

“And so, in ‘22, we had to discount, because we had to move that inventory out,” Kohn said. “Looking at ‘23, and then moving into 24, we have considerably cut down the number of days that we're on sale, really focusing on improving margin. 

“In Q3 [2023], we announced that we had increased gross margin by 300bps, which is a lot when you look at the overall revenue for the business.”

Kohn said that since then, PLBY Group made other changes to the Honey Birdette business. This includes changing its shipping policies to now charge customers for faster shipping - what Americans call ‘expedited’ shipping.

“Basically, everyone was qualifying - based on the average order size, which in the US is like $280 - for expedited free shipping,” Kohn said. “We've now discontinued that and charge for expedited shipping.”

The company also changed its return policy and put a 10% increase on all prices. 

“As labour has gone up over the past few years, we have not raised prices. And so we just instituted a 10% price increase. Because our tagging is done to the factory, that takes a while to roll in. And so you'll start to see that rolling in now through June of this year.”

According to Kohn, 42% of the brand’s trade comes from Australia, where the bulk of its retail stores are. The United States is the brand’s key market by a small margin, at 45%. Other international trade makes up the rest.

Kohn also revealed that 60% of Honey Birdette’s overall revenue comes from online sales. 

“What is really interesting when you look at the retail footprint - every time we opened a retail store, we actually saw an uplift in e-commerce in that geography,” Kohn said. 

Honey Birdette also sees 30% earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margins for stores, and each new store carries a rough cost of $700,000 to build, according to Kohn.

PLBY Group is a global pleasure and leisure company across media, products and experiences. Its key brand is Playboy, with a large portion of its revenue coming from licensing.

Luxury fashion group Richemont has reported sales growth of 8 per cent to US$6 billion for its third quarter ended December 31, on the back of China’s retail recovery. 

Sales for the nine months ended December 31 surged 11 per cent, primarily driven by Japan, Asia Pacific and the Americas.

Performance in Asia Pacific – where sales jumped 13 per cent – was fuelled by the 25 per cent sales growth of the Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau businesses, more than offsetting softer performance in other Asian markets. The group posted the sharpest sales growth in Japan with 18 per cent increase in sales during the quarter as domestic and tourist spending, especially from Chinese clients, surged. 

Sales in Europe were 3 per cent lower as higher sales to Chinese and domestic clientele did not compensate for an overall reduction in tourist spending, the company said in a statement. Sales in the Americas were up by 8 per cent during the period. 

All product categories reported increased sales, with the jewellery maisons and specialist watchmakers performing the best, raising their contribution to 71 per cent of group sales. Group online sales fell by 5 per cent. 

Last month, the luxury group said it had scrapped the deal to sell a 47.5 per cent stake in Yoox-Net-a-Poter (YNAP) to Farfetch following the announcement of New York-listed South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang to rescue Farfetch Holdings from the brink of bankruptcy.