A footwear retailer at the centre of a bruising takeover battle has posted its first unprofitable year after more than two decades as a public company, but its chief executive says better things are afoot.
Accent Group reported on Friday a bottom-line loss of $13.8 million for the 52 weeks to June 28, after making a $57.7 million profit in 2024/25.
The company behind Platypus, Skechers, The Athlete's Foot, Stylerunner, Nude Lucy and Hype DC footwear chains had until Friday maintained an unbroken streak of annual profitability, including during the 2008 global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The loss came after Accent Group said it would write off $48.6 million in goodwill after reviewing a recent drop in sales.
Its underlying profit, which excludes that impairment, was $51 million.
The group, which is also the Australian wholesaler for Hoka, Vans, Dr Martens and other brands, had total sales of $1.64 billion, up from $1.62 billion a year ago.
But like-for-like sales were down 0.9 per cent for the year, after dropping by two per cent in the second half.
For the first seven weeks of 2026/27 sales were similarly down two per cent compared to the same time a year ago, which the company blamed on poor consumer sentiment and high petrol prices.
"Look, the numbers are what they are," chief executive Daniel Agostinelli told AAP.
"But I think the message that I've been getting from those that are in the market and shareholders is that they're very focused on what the next six, 12 months would look like.
"Whilst no one's got a crystal ball, we've got some good things going our way."
Accent Group has been cutting costs by closing 59 stores and laying off 100 staff, mostly back-office personnel, which Mr Agostinelli said was a very hard decision but would help the group's bottom line.
It also opened 43 new stores during 2025/26, leaving it with 876 across Australia and New Zealand at year-end, with 102 stores flagged for review as they come up for lease renewal.
The group is also excited about the launch of three new permanent ODE (Off Duty Essentials) outlets after experimenting with pop-up stores for the premium lifestyle women's brand.
The company had been encouraged by innovations from brands such as Asics, New Balance and Vans that have the front of Accent Group's stores looking different, Mr Agostinelli said.
It launched the British sporting goods brand Sports Direct in Australia in November under a long-term agreement with the UK's Frasers Group, but that turned into a significant headache after Frasers launched a hostile takeover in June.
Accent Group has spent $2.1 million on adviser costs related to the takeover proposal, which expires on September 30.
So far, it doesn't appear many - if any - shareholders have accepted Frasers' 65 cents per share offer, which is perhaps unsurprising given that Accent's shares have traded above that level since Frasers launched its takeover bid
Accent Group continues to work with Frasers and has also opened three physical Sports Direct stores in Australia plus a website, with online sales outperforming expectations amid excitement for the FIFA World Cup.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Wei-Weng Chen said the results were "messy" but appeared to be at the top end of guidance.
Shareholders seemed disappointed, however, with Accent Group shares dropping 9.5 per cent to 71.5 cents in afternoon trading.
Accent Group declared a final dividend of 1.25 cents per share, taking the total for the year to 4.5 cents.
