Australian innerwear brand Step One is facing a $28.1 billion opportunity across its three key markets - Australia, United States and the United Kingdom - amid expansion into women’s ranges.
Step One chair David Gallop shared the news at the brand’s AGM this week.
According to Gallop, total revenue for the business was up 30 per cent in FY24, with EBITDA growth of 51 per cent. He added that the women’s line saw a strong increase of 54 per cent, which he said reinforces the opportunity within its core markets.
Gallop also confirmed that alongside growth in its key markets, emerging markets are showing green shoots, including Canada and Germany. These new markets, according to Gallop, are being buoyed by current partnerships with Amazon and John Lewis.
“The board strongly supports Step One’s strategy, in particular expanding our channels and products to diversify the company’s portfolio while remaining dedicated to our core underwear focus in alignment with our vision,” he said.
“Innovation is central to our business, demonstrated by the strong customer response to our SmoothFit Women’s line, which has significantly expanded our total addressable market.
“We are now facing a $28.1 billion opportunity across Australia, the UK and the US.”
Step One founder and CEO Greg Taylor concurred with Gallop, adding that 30 per cent of all orders now contain at least one women’s product.
“International growth continued to surge in FY24, with the UK up 33.2 per cent and the US up 261.5 per cent, fuelling total business growth of 30 per cent,” Taylor said.
“Finally, 19 per cent of global orders were driven by word of mouth—Australia led at 30 per cent, the UK at 26 per cent, and the US at 4 per cent - reflecting our strong product appeal, customer experience, and growing brand awareness.”
Looking ahead, Taylor confirmed further product innovation is in the works, including the production of a juniors range launching in January 2025.
“Our focus remains on profitable growth in existing markets while testing new ones,” he said. “We’ve proven the effectiveness of our partnership model, and our athlete shareholders enhance our brand credibility.
“While we remain optimistic about future growth, there is always uncertainty predicting the future so we are not providing guidance at this time.”