Footwear conglomerate Accent Group will not renew any franchise agreements at expiry on the remaining 62 The Athlete’s Foot territories across Australia and New Zealand over the next five years.
Based on FY23 franchise sales, this initiative has the potential to add an incremental $170 million to owned sales annually over the next 5 years and will be funded from resulting cashflow and existing debt facilities.
So far, the Australian company has acquired 73 The Athlete’s Foot stores to date.
As well as The Athlete's Foot, Accent Group manages 30 footwear brands in the Australian market, including Skechers, Hoka, Dr Martens and Nude Lucy.
During the 2023 year, Accent Group completed several The Athlete's Foot franchise acquisitions, including one in the second half for $640,771. Six were completed in the first half of the year, with the total consideration transferred for the acquisitions at $6,287,930.
According to Accent Group, the six newly acquired stores contributed revenue of $8.39 million from the acquisition dates to July 2, 2023.
“Performance in The Athlete’s Foot, including the successful franchise acquisition strategy has driven significant operational efficiency and growth for the business over the last 6 years,” Accent Group shared in an update.
“Through the 73 franchise territory re-acquisitions to date, the TAF management team has demonstrated the capability to successfully reacquire and integrate franchise stores.”
As of December 31, the brand operated 888 stores across 24 different retail banners.
Total sales for Accent Group, including The Athlete’s Foot franchises, was $810.9 million in the first half of FY24. This is up from $732.9 million in owned sales, excluding The Athlete's Foot.