Briscoe Group Limited Analysis

Overview

The company's beginnings date from 1862 when the first Briscoes warehouse and store was opened in Dunedin, by William Briscoe & Son. Australian and NZ operations were purchased by Merbank Corporation of Australia in 1973, and following extensive rationalisation, by Hagemeyer in 1977. Following several years of losses, the business was acquired by CEO Rod Duke, in 1990. Stock exchange listing followed a public issue of 40m shares at $1 each in November 2001.

By 2008, Briscoe Group Limited's retailing interests totaled 57 Homeware Stores and 32 Sporting Goods Stores.

Performance

The following information was extracted from Briscoe Group Limited's market update, released on 4 August 2025:

Improved 2nd Quarter Sales

• 2nd Quarter Group Sales $192.9 million, +2.07%
• 1st Half Group Sales $371.3 million, 99.8% of last year
• 2nd Quarter online sales share of Group sales 19.97% vs 19.83% Last Year
• 1st Half online sales share of Group sales 19.36% vs 18.77% Last Year
• Group Inventory value below last year
• Reported Net Profit after Tax (NPAT) expected to be not less than $29 million

The directors of Briscoe Group Limited (NZX/ASX code: BGP) announce unaudited sales for the 13-week second quarter to 27 July 2025 of $192.9 million, an increase of 2.07% on the $189.0 million reported for the same period ended 28 July 2024.

Group Managing Director Rod Duke said, “We’re pleased to be able to record positive sales for this second quarter after the decline recorded for the first quarter. Homewares has bounced back well with growth of 3.97% after the first quarter being impacted by the slow start to winter and the timing of significant promotional events. We were disappointed with the sporting goods sales decline of 1.34% for the quarter, however these sales tend to be more sensitive to the strength of discretionary spend which continues to reflect the ongoing tough economic environment and subdued consumer sentiment.”

Group sales for the first half, 26-week period to 27 July 2025 were $371.3 million, 0.22% below the $372.1 million reported for the first half of last year. Both segments closed at 99% of last year’s sales – homeware under by 0.11% and sporting goods by 0.40%.