Accent steps into deal to buy shoes and youth apparel chains
ACCENT Group will extend its ownership of on-trend footwear and fashion brands after paying $13m for Glu Store retail and Next Athleisure.
The deal will add to an already bulging portfolio that includes company and licensed labels such as Vans, Skechers, Dr Martens and Shubar, with Next Athleisure owning a range of popular exclusive brands such as Nude Lucy, Beyond Her, Lulu & Rose and Article One.
Investors liked the news, sending shares in Accent up 29 cents, or 11.15 per cent, to $2.89 — a record high.
By grabbing the Glu Store network of 21 stores it brings to its existing network of almost 600 Accent-owned shops a leading Australian youth apparel, shoe and accessory retailer with leading domestic and global brands and 500,000 Glu loyalty program members.
As it swallows both businesses as part of the acquisition announced on Friday, Accent will also gain the wise counsel and proven retail experience of multi-billionaire entrepreneur Brett Blundy, who has decided to rejoin the Accent board as a director after stepping down in 2020, with the businessman also Accent’s biggest shareholder with a stake of 18 per cent.
Shares in Accent have rallied more than 200 per cent since COVID-19 wrought havoc on the global economy last year with consumers, especially younger shoppers, happy to shell out on musthave sneakers and shoes at Accent’s stores, which include shops such as Platypus, Hype and The Athlete’s Foot.
The COVID-19 boom helped drive a 6.6 per cent rise in total firsthalf sales to $541.3m in the first half with net profit of $52.8m up a robust 57.3 per cent on the prior year.
Now Accent is looking to drive home its advantage by growing its store network through the purchases of Glu and Next Athleisure.