Brent Scrimshaw, CEO and managing director of KMD Brands, Ltd, the New Zealand-based parent of the Rip Curl, Oboz, Kathmandu, told participants on a conference call with analysts this week that KMD has created a business with clear priorities and greater alignment across the Group, which provides them with confidence entering fiscal 2027.

“As a management team, we’ve worked hard to build a high-performance culture, and I’m pleased to report that we have delivered a number of tangible and positive outcomes that have moved the business forward in FY 2026,” he commented. “We reset the product roadmap for each of our brands, accelerating innovation and seasonal flow, and enhancing our performance position within each brand.”

Scrimshaw said they also completed the implementation of a number of major technology platforms while delivering NZ$27.5 million in cost savings for the year, exceeding the Group’s own original target.

“Importantly, we’ve become leaner and more efficient through improved inventory optimization and a reset of our operating models in the U.S. for Rip Curl.”

Rip Curl Fiscal 2026 Summary
Rip Curl total sales grew 3.8 percent y/y to NZ$571.2 million (~$333 mm) in fiscal 2026 ended July 31, reportedly helped by year-over-year movement in FX (foreign currency exchange) rates. On a constant-currency basis, total sales were reportedly down 1.2 percent y/y.

Company CFO Carla Webb-Sear told call participants that Rip Curl continued to grow despite softer consumer conditions in the second half and a more challenging Wholesale market in Europe.

Webb-Sear went on to say that Rip Curl sales growth was supported by U.S. and European summer sales and growing online channel momentum through H2, along with the appreciation of the Australian dollar relative to the Group’s New Zealand dollar reporting currency.

KMD Brands reports in the New Zealand dollar (NZ$, NZD) currency. For fiscal 2026, certain figures are also reported herein in U.S. dollar ($) terms and were converted at an average of 1 NZ$ = $0.583 for the fiscal year as determined by KMD.

Rip Curl Wholesale sales increased 5.5 percent y/y, with particularly strong demand in Europe driven by sales mix.

Rip Curl direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand store sales (including online, x-Ozmosis, a regional multi-brand Australian retail chain owned by Rip Curl) were up 5.4 percent y/y, with U.S. retail sales said to be a highlight, and European summer sales came in strong on the back of “favorable climatic conditions.”

Rip Curl brand DTC same-store sales (including online, x-Ozmosis) were up 1.3 percent y/y. Ozmosis same-store sales were down 5.0 percent y/y.

CEO Scrimshaw said the company acted swiftly to close underperforming stores while delivering a step change in store profitability at Rip Curl, adding that he thought there is still additional opportunity to capture more in fiscal 2027.

The brand also completed the launch of a next-generation flagship store in Sydney, said to represent the “pinnacle experience” of the Group’s store segmentation strategy.

Online sales increased 9.1 percent y/y to NZ$45.5 million (~$26.5 mm), comprising 13.3 percent of total DTC sales for the fiscal year.

Webb-Sear said online growth was strong across all three company brands and was supported by continued investment, including the migration of Rip Curl onto the Shopify platform and a successful trial of ship from store.

“Both of these investments paid immediate dividends and sales uplift and will continue to do so into FY 2027, evidenced by early FY 2027 sales results,” she said.

Profitability & Expenses
Rip Curl brand gross margin increased 110 basis points y/y, said to be a result of favorable channel mix and strengthening exchange rates across key markets and input costs.

Underlying operating expenses for the Rip Curl brand were down versus the prior year (on a constant-currency basis), with “a strategic cost reset helping to offset strategic growth investments and continued global cost pressures.” Despite continued cost pressure, Rip Curl delivered underlying EBITDA growth of 12.2 percent y/y.

The Next Level Reset
The Rip Curl team reportedly made significant progress to transform the Rip Curl brand for the next generation. Earlier in the year, the company relocated global product creation teams to the head office in Torquay, Australia and reset the entire product line plan for Rip Curl with a reduction of more than 2,000 SKUs versus fiscal 2025. Scrimshaw said the result is just coming to market now.

Next Level Strategic Priorities

Reset for “Next Gen” Connection

  • Launched the youth-focused Archive range, which became the brand’s best-selling collection of FY26.
  • Increased online traffic across youth-focused social media platforms, including TikTok.
  • Launched a second collaboration with Brazilian lifestyle leader Farm Rio, bringing a more youthful, stylistic expression to the brand.
  • Launched a new Stephanie Gilmore collection, translating the 8x World Champion’s influence into marketable capsules for the next generation.
  • Evolved athlete strategy to build stronger relevance with the next generation of team riders.

Serve the Core, Embrace the Beach

  • Delivered stronger like-for-like performance from beach-segmented stores, with further expansion planned.
  • Expanded product lines to engage beach and lifestyle customers, broadening the brand’s relevance while maintaining strong appeal with the core customer.
  • Opened new stores in key beach locations, including Ibiza, Spain and Lacanau, France.
  • Expanded reach beyond the core surf customer through a broader beach lifestyle positioning and women-focused store concepts, including Bondi Women’s.
  • Expanded distribution into key wholesale partners, including Dicks in North America.

Digitally-Led, Global Integrated Marketplace

  • Delivered double-digit digital sales growth across ANZ and Asia, with incremental growth across the Americas.
  • Rebuilt Rip Curl’s global digital infrastructure through the implementation of Shopify, Klaviyo and PIM, creating a more scalable global e-commerce foundation.
  • Reset the digital operating model to build stronger internal capability and enable a more agile,
    customer-focused approach to digital growth.
  • Delivered deeper customer and consumer insights research, enabling more sophisticated segmentation and sharper, evidence-based decision-making across the business.

Fiscal 2027 Trading and Outlook Summary
Looking at the seven-week year-to-date (YTD) period of fiscal 2027 (Monday, July 27 through Sunday, September 13), Rip Curl DTC same-store sales, including online y/y on a constant-currency basis, rose 1 percent y/y. Rip Curl brand stores reportedly grew across multiple geographies and online, while Ozmosis multi-brand stores were said to have experienced “some difficult trading conditions due to some product assortment challenges.”

Rip Curl brand stores were up 4 percent y/y for the YTD period, while Ozmosis multi-brand stores were down 12.1 percent year-over-year.

The fiscal 2027 store plan reportedly continues to focus on continued reduction of exposure to lower returning locations and rightsizing the store network, along with improving sales density across the fleet. An Ozmosis remediation plan is reportedly “currently in place,” including the closure of five underperforming stores.

Rip Curl sales are expected to benefit in H1 from the first deliveries of next-gen designed product into the market in time for the Australian peak trade.

The Rip Curl order book was said to be consistent with prior year, “with ongoing management within a dynamic shipping environment.”

KMD Brands Business Review
As part of the comprehensive business review initiated in May 2026, the KMD Board said it has considered the Group’s portfolio, its capital requirements, and a range of potential value creation opportunities. The review was undertaken with independent financial advisory from Deloitte and Barclays, and legal advice from Chapman Tripp. The review was said to be “conducted objectively and without a predetermined outcome.” The review reportedly resulted in actions to simplify the Group and enhance its financial flexibility. These include the decisions to di-nvest the Group’s manufacturing facility in Southeast Asia and the Group also tested external interest in Rip Curl’s Ozmosis multi-brand retail chain.

Management said no proposal for Ozmosis emerged that offered greater value than continuing to rationalize the chain and improve the profitability of the remaining store fleet. The review also included a commitment to ongoing cost reduction through the immediate offshoring of select Group shared services. Throughout the review process, the board has received and considered a number of indicative approaches from external parties and has determined that further engagement with a limited number of those parties is appropriate. Consistent with its responsibility to shareholders, the board will assess whether any proposal could deliver greater value than continued execution of the Group’s Next Level strategy. The approaches are indicative, non-binding and incomplete, and no decision has been made, and there is no certainty that any proposal or transaction will result. This engagement does not change the Group’s strategy, priorities, or day-to-day focus.

Management said it remains focused on delivering the fiscal 2027 Next Level plan, improving profitability, generating free cash flow, and reducing leverage. The Board said it will continue to support the execution of the strategy while carefully assessing any credible alternative that may deliver superior shareholder value and will update the market in accordance with its continuous disclosure obligations.

“To conclude, in summary, FY 2026 was a year of a turnaround,” the CEO said, wrapping the prepared remarks.

“We made a number of deliberate and meaningful changes across the Group, and we expect to see increasing benefits over time from the product, marketing, and capability changes implemented during 2026 as new product ranges, particularly for Rip Curl, begin to impact consumers, brand storytelling is reset, and we transform to a more modern and agile brand portfolio,” Scrimshaw said.

“As we move into FY 2027, our focus has immediately shifted from resetting the business to the sustained and relentless execution of our initiatives to create long-term shareholder value.”

Image, data and graphics courtesy Rip Curl/KMD Brands, Ltd.