Accent Group sells kids' shoes retail brand The Trybe to Munro Footwear Group

While announcing a marginal 2.5 per cent lift in FY24 sales to $1.61 billion and signalling further store openings ahead for Stylerunner, Skechers, HOKA and UGG, Accent Group revealed The Trybe was sold with an ownership transition completed on 16 August. 

Accent, which also owns and operates retail stores for Timberland, Subtype, Nude Lucy, Sneaker Lab, Henleys, Article One and many other brands, reports the "relevant financial effect is immaterial and will be accounted for in the financial year ending 29 June 2025".

From next year Accent will also no longer be distributing the workwear shoes brand CAT, with its remaining six stores either closing or transitioning throughout FY25 with no expected material financial impact.

In February the group also decided not to renew its The Athlete's Foot franchise agreements at expiry, although it will explore the re-acquisition of the remaining 60 franchise territories for the brand over the next five years.

The Trybe was launched by Accent Group five years ago as an online marketplace for children's shoes, and since then has grown its store footprint to 16 locations.

"As we add and grow new businesses, the company continues to evaluate business unit performance to drive investor returns," says Accent Group CEO Daniel Agostinelli.

"This ongoing process resulted in the previously announced decision to exit 17 underperforming Glue stores.

"We advise today that The Trybe business has been sold and that the company will not continue with the CAT distribution agreement beyond its expiry at the end of December 2024."

Even though The Trybe will no longer be a part of the group, Accent emphasises it will continue to have a large and growing children’s shoe business through The Athlete’s Foot, Skechers, Platypus, Hype DC and others.

"Having founded the brand in 2019 initially online and then opening stores, we are pleased that the business has found a new home at Munro Footwear Group for its the next phase of development," adds Accent Group's general manager of the trend division, Liam Robson.

Accent has reported a 33 per cent decline in net profit after tax (NPAT) to $59.5 million and net debt is up slightly at $122.2 million, but Agostinelli is "pleased" with the result in the context of a challenging consumer environment.

"The company remains focused on growth and return on investment for shareholders," he says.

"Highlights for the year include the profit contribution of our newer banners including Nude Lucy, Stylerunner, HOKA and UGG along with continued strong performance in Skechers, The Athlete’s Foot (TAF), Hype DC and others."

Accent Group currently has a total store count of 895, including online, and plans to open at least 50 locations in the current financial year. Around 10 of these will be for Stylerunner, for which the group currently operates 28 stores.

Of Accent's $1.61 billion in sales, more than $1.4 billion was from its owned retail sales, and more than $125 million was from its vertical owned brands. The group currently has 10.2 million contactable customers, up 400,000 for the year, with loyalty program membership of 8.1 million customers across TAF, Skechers, Platypus, Hype DC, Glue Store and Merrell.

Total sales for the first seven weeks of FY25 are up 8.7 per cent year-on-year, and like-for-like retail sales are up 3.5 per cent.

"I am very pleased with trade in the opening weeks of FY25. The Accent team is focused on executing our plan for FY25 including strong new product, opening at least 50 new stores, growth from our existing and new distributed brands and a continued drive on cost efficiency and gross margin improvement," says Agostinelli.

"In conclusion, I am pleased with the progress that has been made on our key growth strategies as we continue to build a strong, defensible business in Australia and New Zealand.

"Our portfolio of global distributed brands, owned vertical brands, integrated digital capability and large store network are core assets of the group and position the company well for growth into the future."

Accent Group was established in 1988 by founding shareholders Craig Thompson, Bill Duell and Michael Hapgood, and listed on the ASX in 2004.

The retailer currently has a market capitalisation of $1.36 billion, which compares to the last publicly available valuation of $137.6 million for the privately-held Munro Footwear Group - a company that was founded in 1962 by Graham Munro, who built the business with his wife Kerrie, acquiring several brands before operations were consolidated in 2017.

The group is currently led by Graham and Kerrie's son Jay Munro as co-CEO alongside Marcus Bartlett.

MFG is no stranger to the children's footwear market as it has been running a back-to-school program through its Williams and Mathers stores for more than three decades, and in 2023 acquired the globally recognised infant and
toddler footwear brand Bobux

"We’ve been looking for a year-round vehicle to complement our back-to-school program, and we believe The Trybe provides that – along with access to the best-branded sneakers in the world," says Bartlett.

MFG plans to work closely with the Accent Group team to ensure the smooth transition of the brand, with the full handover expected to be completed by the end of October 2024.

"It’s important that we spend the time to understand the business so we can honour and preserve the brand as we look to scale it," says Bartlett.

"But we’re confident that under our business model, together with The Trybe’s existing brand positioning and recognition, we can take this well beyond the current 16-store footprint."