New Smiggle CEO will be tasked with global expansion

2 hours ago 1

The next chief executive of Smiggle will probably be an international hire asked to grow the brand across the globe, as the youth stationery company’s sales declined after managing director John Cheston was fired over alleged misconduct.

Smiggle’s 10.7 per cent sales decline offset the strong 7.7 per cent growth for Peter Alexander, resulting in an 0.9 per cent uptick in total sales for parent company Premier Investments’ continuing operations.

Smiggle performed badly in the 2025 financial year.

Premier Investments chairman Solomon Lew has blamed cost-of-living pressures and poor execution at Smiggle, which has been without a permanent chief executive for the better part of the year, and said he was confident it would return to growth.

“A new appointment is all about our international growth … we think that that’s where the big growth can come from in the future,” Lew told investors on Thursday morning.

“We’ve looked within Australia, but at this point in time, we haven’t found the right person,” he said. “We’ve come very close, but we just haven’t been able to convince ourselves that it’s the right appointment.”

Smiggle sales slumped over the past year.

Cheston was sacked in late November for what the company said was “serious misconduct and a serious breach of his employment terms”. Cheston denies the allegations and has joined rival retailer Lovisa as global chief executive.

Meanwhile, Peter Alexander had its strongest year ever with sales rising 7.7 per cent to $548 million as customers purchased sleepwear for gifts. Six new stores opened during the year, with a further nine relocating or refurbished. Three stores in Britain opened in November 2024.

Premier has been slow to roll out new loyalty programs compared with its retail peers. This week alone, The Iconic launched a new loyalty program, Myer and Virgin Australia expanded their partnership, and David Jones announced a revamped scheme. Peter Alexander will launch its program, Peter’s Dreamers, next month, with Smiggle’s to come next year.

Group profits rose 31.1 per cent to $338.2 million, due in part to the sale of Apparel Brands (Jay Jays, Just Jeans, Dotti, Portmans and Jacqui E) to Myer.

Premier Investments’ share price was up by 0.5 per cent at 11am. The company has announced a final fully franked dividend of 50¢ a share.

Ecommerce now makes up 22.9 per cent of total sales, reflecting a broader retail trend of increased online shopping.

“From working through a robust due diligence process with Myer, to completing the sale of the five-brand Apparel Brands business to Myer on January 26, 2025, to emerging as a high-margin two-brand business across multiple countries – this year has been both challenging and exciting,” Lew said.

The $3.3 billion ASX-listed business will continue to grow its footprint across different cities and countries over the next few years, he said.

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