The Premier Investments Ltd (ASX: PMV) share price is in focus today after Premier Retail reported FY26 unaudited sales of $795.5 million, down 2% versus last year, and underlying EBIT guidance trimmed to $176 million.
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What did Premier Investments report?
- Premier Retail FY26 unaudited sales: $795.5 million, down 2.0% on FY25
- FY26 underlying EBIT: revised to approximately $176 million (previous guidance: $183 million)
- Peter Alexander UK: set to exit three UK physical stores; UK trading to continue online only
- Launch of new loyalty programs for Peter Alexander and Smiggle
- Peter Alexander to open at least five new stores in Australia and NZ in 1H27
- At least 24 Peter Alexander concessions to open at Myer from August 2027
What else do investors need to know?
Premier Retail is continuing to ramp up its strategic initiatives, including rolling out loyalty programs for both Peter Alexander and Smiggle, aiming to drive customer engagement and brand growth. Smiggle's brand reset is said to be progressing well, with a refreshed product direction and enhanced loyalty offering recently introduced.
The company announced plans to close its remaining three Peter Alexander stores in the UK due to challenging trading conditions, while maintaining an online presence in the region. Meanwhile, Peter Alexander is focusing growth efforts on its stronger-performing Australian and New Zealand markets and exploring international wholesale partnerships. The business plans to expand its physical retail footprint locally, including a new flagship store in Sydney.
What did Premier Investments management say?
Premier Chairman Solomon Lew commented:
The discretionary retail conditions in 2H26 have been very challenging, in particular during the latter months of 2H26. Given this environment, the Board believes the FY26 Premier Retail Underlying EBIT result to be a creditable outcome being down 3.8% on the guidance given in March 2026.
Peter Alexander is one of Australia's and New Zealand's most loved brands. While trading conditions in the United Kingdom remain difficult, the decision to close our UK stores allows us to concentrate our investment where the brand is performing strongly.
Our entry to the UK market was phased to allow us to test market response. Premier has strict store profitability and return hurdles and we allocate capital prudently on behalf of our shareholders. We have decided to channel our growth capital for Peter Alexander into our Australia and New Zealand markets, online and potentially capital-light wholesale which we continue to explore with global partners.
Turning to Smiggle, the Board is optimistic about the new and refreshed direction of the Smiggle Brand, which will shortly be unveiled to customers. Significant progress has been made on Smiggle's strategic reset over the past few months. Smiggle will continue its presence in the UK given the Smiggle brand is already well established. We look forward to providing a further update on Smiggle's strategic reset with our FY26 results in September.
Premier maintains a strong balance sheet, we remain disciplined in our approach to capital and confident in the long-term outlook for Premier Retail.
What's next for Premier Investments?
Investors can expect to see more detail on Premier Retail's refreshed strategy and brand initiatives with its official FY26 results due in September. Management will be focusing short-term efforts on bedding down new loyalty programs, rolling out further Peter Alexander store expansions in Australia and New Zealand, and progressing international wholesale growth.
The Smiggle brand's reset and the exit of Peter Alexander's UK stores aim to sharpen the group's focus on its strongest markets and brand opportunities. The company's strong balance sheet gives it flexibility to pursue these plans through changing retail conditions.
Premier Investments share price snapshot
The Premier Investments share price has been among the worst performers on the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO) over the past 12 months with a decline of almost 40%.
