Accent Group's VIP, Vertical and Virtual (VVV) strategy has held the business in good stead throughout sustained COVID-19 disruption, the retail giant has revealed in its FY21 results.
The Group, which houses brands including The Athlete's Foot, Stylerunner, Hype, Platypus and Glue Store, reported that total sales for FY21 jumped up 19.9% to $1.14 billion, compared to the prior year.
Accent also reported that EBITDA increased 19.3% on FY20, to $242 million.
The footwear giant also recorded a 38.6% lift in net profit after tax (NPAT) to $76.9 million.
Speaking on the results, CEO Daniel Agostinelli said he was thrilled to see the business' VVV strategy continuing to deliver.
"Given the disruption to the business and the impact of the 14 separate lockdowns that occurred throughout the year, I am delighted with the FY21 results.
"The Group's continued focus on VIP (our loyalty customers), Vertical and Virtual, along with our integrated digital and store operating model, has delivered another record profit.
"The acquisition of the Glu Store business to form our new Accent Lifestyle division was a key highlight for the year and I couldn't be more pleased with the quality of the business and the progress that has been made in the first 90 days," he said.
Accent reported that total online sales jumped up 48.5% on FY20 to $209.9 million - now representing 20.9% of retail sales.
The retailer added 1.6 million contactable customers to its database, taking the total to 8.4 million customers.
The Group also launched four new websites during the period, including Stylerunner, Pivot, Hype NZ and Dr Martens NZ.
Meanwhile, virtual sales specifically, drove $6.3 million in sales for FY21.
In its retail channel, Accent recorded $835.4 million in retail sales, up 19.6% on the prior year, with key performances in Hype DC, Skechers, Platypus, The Athlete's Foot and Trybe.
Like for like sales increased 8.3% for the full year and 15.1% for H2, compared to FY20.
Additionally, Accent recorded growth in its wholesale and distributed brands.
In FY21, wholesale sales grew by 22% to $132.3 million - a record year for Accent wholesale.
During the period, the business signed distribution deals for Hoka and Herschel.
"I am also pleased to report that in August we signed an early renewal of our key Skechers distribution licence for a further six years to extend this licence from 2026 to December 2032," Agostinelli said.
"Importantly, I would like to thank our team, suppliers and landlords for their efforts and performance throughout the year and our customers for their continued loyalty," he said.
Accent closed the period with 638 stores in total, after opening 90 new stores and closing seven.
The business delivered total dividends for the year of 11.25 cents for the year (fully franked), up 21.6%.
The retailer reported gross margin of 56.1% compared to 55.8% in FY20, up 30 basis points.
The business has available liquidity including cash on hand and undrawn debt facilities of $133 million, net debt of $67 million.