Briscoe Group made an $84m profit while The Warehouse and Kathmandu are in decline. Its owner, Rod Duke, reveals his secret formula for managing stock and avoiding debt. Video / Carson Bluck
Consumers have shifted to buy better quality goods, benefiting Briscoe Group’s bottom line and hurting competing retailers, says its managing director Rod Duke.
“There’s been a market share shift,” the man who’s majority owned Briscoes since 1990, and founded Rebel Sport, told Markets with Madison.
“That means a lot of their customers have transferred across to me.”
His partially-listed company grew sales to a new record $789 million in the year to the end of January, compared with other listed retailers The Warehouse and KMD Brands, owner of Kathmandu, which suffered sales declines of 4.7 per cent and 14.5 per cent, respectively.
He said his brands Briscoes and Rebel Sport focused on quality.
“If the rest of the market wants to sell cheap, scungy product, that’s fine ... But, I don’t want to go there.”
He did urge them to “keep on trying”, though.
Briscoes managing director and majority owner Rod Duke pulling a 'Staying Alive' dance move before discussing his succession plan with Madison Reidy. Photo / Carson Bluck
When asked if he might purchase The Warehouse Group’s online business TheMarket.com, Duke said: “I’m not saying no, but I’m definitely not saying yes.”
Briscoe Group was still unwinding the extra inventory it bought to meet demand during the pandemic, but Duke said it wasn’t having to sell it at a discount, unlike some others.
But, he wasn’t above a bargain.
“If the competition have all sorts of issues and are screaming promotions, then I’m in as well. We don’t back away from these sorts of fights.”
His company had no debt.
In fact it earned $3.4 million in interest from banks on its $175.4m worth of cash in the financial year just ended.
Duke also discussed succession and how the Briscoe Group could look one day without him.
“I’m not looking forward to it, because I gave birth to it, but look, the day will come.”
Watch his interview with Markets with Madison, inside Briscoe’s Auckland distribution centre, in today’s episode above.
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Madison Reidy is the host of the NZ Herald’s investment show Markets with Madison. She joined the Herald in 2022 after working in investment, and has covered business and economics for television and radio broadcasters.
