Kogan has merry Xmas despite iPhone slide

ONLINE retailer Kogan.com says record Black Friday and Boxing Day sales have offset plunging revenue from poor iPhone sales.

In an unaudited update yesterday, Kogan told the ASX that total revenue growth for the six months to December 31 was 9.7 per cent higher than the same period last year, boosted by new and storespecific products in the lead up to the peak Christmas trading period.

Kogan.com founder and chief executive Ruslan Kogan said a surge in exclusive and partner brands — particularly at the tail end of the calendar year — helped offset plummeting demand for Apple products, namely the new iPhone.

“Our team is proud to have delivered the best Christmas trading period the business has ever had,” Mr Kogan said.

The company blamed Apple sales and changes in the GST law and “the apparent avoidance of GST by a number of foreign websites selling into Australia” for a 46.7 per cent decline in global brand revenue.

Excluding Apple, first-half revenue from global brands such as Samsung, Google, Xiaomi, and Garmin grew by 8.5 per cent.

Kogan’s exclusive brands revenue grew 23.6 per cent, while partner brands surged 92.8 per cent and Kogan Mobile active customers are up 75 per cent year-on-year.

The company, which acquired Dick Smith Electronics for $2.6 million in April 2016, also said it was co-operating with the competition watchdog in regards to an inquiry into a Kogan marketing promotion in June last year.

In November, the company entered Australia’s $2.7 trillion superannuation industry with its own-brand fund, also launching Kogan Money Home Loans in partnership with Adelaide Bank and Pepper.