Australia's City Chic reports strong ANZ gains, US sales fall
Australian omni-channel retailer of apparel and footwear City Chic Collective has reported total growth of 8 per cent on prior corresponding period (PCP) in the first 18 weeks of the second half (H2) of fiscal 2025 (FY25). It reported mixed performance across regions, driven by challenging trade and consumer sentiment, particularly in the US.
The result was driven by strong performance in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), which grew 17 per cent with comparable sales up 21 per cent across all channels. In contrast, the US saw a decline of 13 per cent year-over-year (YoY). The group online traffic rose by 23 per cent, while gross margin remained in line with expectations.
The ANZ business remains on track to operate 78 stores by the end of FY25, including the newly opened contemporary-format store in Wetherill Park, which has received highly positive customer feedback. The growth has been lower than planned, with the expected uplift from the recent interest rate cut and improved consumer sentiment yet to materialise to the extent the group anticipated, City Chic Collective said in a press release.
City Chic Collective has reported 8 per cent growth in the first 18 weeks of H2 FY25, led by strong 17 per cent growth in ANZ, while the US market declined 13 per cent. Online traffic rose 23 per cent, and gross margin held steady. The group is targeting the lower end of its revised full-year revenue and EBITDA range due to ongoing US volatility, while continuing to focus on sales and margins.
At the H1 FY25 results announcement, the group revised its full-year guidance to revenue between $137 million and $147 million, with EBITDA projected between $8 million and $12 million.
Given ongoing volatility in the US market and trading conditions in the first 18 weeks of 2H FY25, City Chic is now aiming for the lower end of these ranges. However, continued uncertainty may cause actual results to fall short. Management remains focused on executing its strategy, driving sales, safeguarding margins, and implementing the cost reduction programme to strengthen the business for long-term growth, added the release.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
11 minutes ago
- Time of India
Trade deal lacks fine print, raising doubts over US-China truce: Shaun Rein
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel "You can have companies, the big automakers like Ford and GM are rumoured to say, we need to relocate our manufacturing to China, so we can get access to rare earths despite the heavy tariffs that they would then incur by going into the United States. But here is the thing, China's media has been a lot more circumspect with the details of this so-called trade agreement," says Shaun Rein, China Market Research is a great and big question. Trump is saying the deal has been signed and he has been talking about that the Chinese are going to send rare earths and magnets in advance to whatever the United States needs because what you have seen in the last month is the lack of rare earths that were exported to the United States has really crippled the American economy You can have companies, the big automakers like Ford and GM are rumoured to say, we need to relocate our manufacturing to China, so we can get access to rare earths despite the heavy tariffs that they would then incur by going into the United States. But here is the thing, China's media has been a lot more circumspect with the details of this so-called trade has said the rumour is that they will give maybe export licenses to rare earths on a six-month trial basis to American companies. So, basically Trump is exaggerating the win in his mind and China is being a lot more honest probably saying well we do not have all the details ironed out, we want to come to an agreement but quite frankly China has the upper hand in the trade war with the United States right that the United States makes except for semiconductors, the Chinese can buy elsewhere. So, instead of buying American beef, they are buying Australian beef; instead of buying American oil, they are buying Canadian oil; instead of buying American soybeans, they are buying Brazilian soybeans. So, what you have seen is that there is a total shift in trade patterns and a total shift in power and China is at the top of the triangle, the top of the pyramid right now in terms of buying goods and trading goods from other countries. We are seeing a shift in world order right I mean that that is not true. I mean, Chinese equity markets are up 15-16% since the start of the year while the S&P 500 is only up about 2%. So, it is quite clear that the Chinese Hong Kong equity markets are outperforming the United States right the equity markets also do not necessarily reflect the economy. So, what you are seeing right now is Abigail Johnson, who is the head of Fidelity , the rumour is today that her private investment house is going to be selling 40 Chinese tech companies that they have long held because they are worried about the regulatory and I have been talking with a lot of mutual funds, I have been talking with a lot of LPs like pension funds and endowments and they are getting huge pressure from not just Trump , but previously under the Biden regime to derisk by not investing in Chinese equities, so that does not mean the economy is bad, that just means more oppression and bullying from the United States because they are trying to really contain China's economic might have happened eight years ago and that might have worked eight years ago. But the big problem is the United States has gone after Europe. The United States has gone after Canada. You even hear Howard Lutnick, the Secretary of Commerce , criticised India last week and said, why is India buying Russian weapons, they should be buying American the reality is the United States under Trump and Biden has been bullying people all around the world. And I think at some point the global south or I prefer to call it the global majority is saying you know what, let us not deal with all the drama, let us not deal with weaponization of the US dollar, weaponization of technology and let us move closer towards China where we have a lot more stable relations with Australia for instance, Australian dollar has strengthened in the last couple weeks because basically Australia is a proxy for China. Australia's economy does well when China's economy does well, whether it be buying iron ore, whether it be buying tourists going to Australia to buy products, so that is why the Aussie has strengthened and the US dollar is weakened. Now when it comes to liquidity and volume going back towards China, we are still at a very initial of the global funds only have about 25% of their holdings exposed to China. I recommend retail investors to have 15% to 20% because of the volatility and the regulatory we are seeing in my conversations with institutional investors like hedge funds that they want to come back into China, but they have not come back yet. Now, that gives a great opportunity for speculators and people who have a high-risk appetite to trade in front of the institutional personally, I am getting more exposure to Hong Kong equities the last six months because I am trying to front run what the hedge funds are doing because they still have not quite gotten into the markets yet and they will in the next three to six months because they have to make the business case, China is outperforming the S&P the United States needs a deal. Frankly, China controls about 30-35% of global manufacturing. So, America might have the money, they might have the capital, but they need to buy the products from China. At the end of the day, China makes not just rare earths, about 90% of refined rare earths, but they also make most of the ibuprofen, most of the of the antibiotics in the world comes from China. So, at the end of the day, that is real leverage. So, for instance in 2017, 18% of Chinese exports went to the US, that number is down to 14%. China on the other hand has shifted and exports to Asean, has gone up to 16%.So, basically, it is a game of chicken right now. China's economy is hurting, do not get me wrong. There are about 15 million people who are involved in the export sector. You have seen that the CPI index has dropped about 0.1%. So, we are dealing with the D-word, the economy in China is not booming, but China is not going to blink. They have the resolve to push hard back against Trump and Scott Bessent and Howard Lutnick because at the end of the day, the Americans need to buy from China. They cannot buy antibiotics from any other country in the world except for a little bit from India.
Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Indian Express
US launches review of AUKUS submarine deal; Australia confident pact will proceed
The United States has initiated a formal review of the AUKUS submarine agreement with Australia and the United Kingdom to ensure it aligns with the Trump administration's 'America First' priorities, according to a US defence official cited by the BBC. 'The department is reviewing AUKUS as part of ensuring that this initiative of the previous administration is aligned with the President's America First agenda,' the official said. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has talked about the importance of ensuring maximum military readiness and pressing allies to contribute fully to collective defense. The review will be led by Elbridge Colby, a senior Pentagon official and critic of the deal, who had previously questioned why the US would part with what he called the 'crown jewel' of its defense technology at a time of heightened global tensions. Australia has responded with calm, expressing confidence that the pact remains intact. Defence Minister Richard Marles told ABC Radio Melbourne on Thursday that the deal is crucial to Australia's long-term security needs. 'I'm very confident this is going to happen,' Marles said. 'You just need to look at the map to understand that Australia absolutely needs to have a long-range submarine capability.' Marles said that it is not a surprise for a new administration to reassess such a major agreement. 'This is a multi-decade plan. There will be governments that come and go and I think whenever we see a new government, a review of this kind is going to be something which will be undertaken,' he said. Signed in 2021 under then-President Joe Biden, the AUKUS pact is a trilateral security agreement aimed at countering China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific. Under the deal, Australia will acquire nuclear-powered submarines with technology shared by the US and UK, becoming only the second country after Britain to receive such access from Washington. The plan involves Australia purchasing up to three second-hand Virginia-class submarines from the US starting in the early 2030s, with options for two more. Eventually, Australia and the UK will co-develop a new AUKUS-class submarine, with production shared between the two countries. The deal is valued at $368 billion is Australian dollars (US$239 billion) over three decades and is expected to generate thousands of manufacturing jobs in both nations. In 2025, Australia is scheduled to make a $2 billion payment to help upgrade US submarine shipyards. The first $500 million tranche was paid earlier this year during a visit by Marles to Washington. The US review will also examine the production rate of Virginia-class submarines, which have fallen behind schedule. Colby and other officials have expressed concerns about whether the US can meet its own fleet demands while also supplying submarines to Australia. 'It is important that those production and sustainment rates are improved,' Marles said. Meanwhile, Australia is under pressure from Washington to increase its defense spending from 2% to 3.5% of GDP. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has committed to raising it to 2.3%, citing capability needs rather than percentage targets. He is expected to meet President Donald Trump at the upcoming G7 summit in Canada to discuss both AUKUS and defense burden-sharing. An Australian government spokesperson told the BBC that such reviews are natural for a new administration, noting that the UK had also recently completed its own evaluation of the pact. There is 'clear and consistent' support for the deal across the 'full political spectrum' in the US, they said. The UK Ministry of Defence echoed this sentiment, calling AUKUS a 'landmark security and defence partnership' and 'one of the most strategically important partnerships in decades.' The AUKUS pact has drawn criticism from China, which accuses the trilateral alliance of destabilising the region and stoking an arms race. Analysts warn that any sign of US withdrawal could be seen as a strategic win for Beijing. (With inputs from BBC, Reuters)
Mint
4 hours ago
- Mint
Australian shares flat as mining losses counter banks, energy boost
June 12 (Reuters) - Australian shares were largely unchanged on Thursday, as miners partially offset strong performances in banks and energy stocks, while U.S. President Donald Trump's hint at extending the trade negotiation deadline eased concerns over imminent tariff hikes. The S&P/ASX 200 index held its ground at 8,593 points, as of 0108 GMT. The benchmark on Wednesday touched a record-closing high of 8,592.1 points. Overnight, Trump signalled openness to extending the July 8 deadline for trade talks before higher U.S. tariffs take effect, though he expressed doubt that an extension would be necessary. China and the United States, Australia's top export partners, reached a framework deal, boosting investor optimism for a lasting resolution between the two superpowers and easing fears of further market disruption. However, the lack of specific terms leaves the possibility of future tariff disputes. Chinese export-reliant miners slipped 0.4%, set for their weakest session since June 2, if current momentum holds. Mining heavyweights BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue dropped between 0.9% and 2.4%. Bucking the sombre trend, energy firms climbed 1.4% after oil prices hit a two-month high. The sub-index is on track for its fourth consecutive session of gains. Index majors Woodside and Santos advanced 1.5% and 0.8%, respectively. Financials rose 0.2%, with the "Big Four" banks climbing between 0.1% and 0.4%. Gold stocks tracked bullion prices higher, climbing nearly 2%. Shares of metals miner Northern Star Resources gained about 1%. Among corporate news, Qantas emerged as one of the top performers in the benchmark index, up 4.3%, a day after the carrier announced the closure of Singapore-based budget airline Jetstar Asia due to rising costs and competition. In other news, the Australian defence minister expressed confidence in the AUKUS submarine pact, despite the Trump administration launching a formal review of the agreement. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index edged 0.1% lower to 12,592.86 points. (Reporting by Kumar Tanishk and Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
