Hallenstein Glasson has posted a $39.4m profit for the 2025 financial year. Photo / Alex Burton
Fashion retail group Hallenstein Glasson has reported a 14.4% lift in net profit to $39.4 million for the year to August 1, challenging the market trend through steady gross margin management across the year.
The business reported total group revenue of $470.7m in 2025, up 8.1% from $435.6m in 2024.
Despite an increase in total expenses by roughly $14m to $218.7m for the year, it was offset by strong growth in the business’ gross profit, up 7.9% to $279.3m.
Hallenstein Glasson’s gross margins were key to the business’s success in 2025, reporting a margin percentage of 59.3%, consistent with the 59.4% in the prior year.
This is despite a continued challenging foreign exchange rate for inventory purchases, which was lower than the prior corresponding period.
Glassons Australia was the clear standout for the business once again, with total sales increasing from $218.1m in 2024 to $251.5m in 2025, a 15.3% increase year-on-year.
Net profit for the Australian arm also grew 15.3%, up from $19.5m in 2024 to $22.5m in 2025.
Two new Glassons Australia stores were opened last year, including one on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and another in Harbour Town, Adelaide.
The business now has 40 locations across Australia and signalled it continues to look for new store opportunities.
Glassons Australia is also working with its landlord on a new purpose-built, larger warehouse with improved automation which will ensure the business is prepared for future growth, with the warehouse expected to be ready in the second half of the 2026 financial year.
As for Glassons New Zealand, it was a much different story, with total revenue increasing only 1.7% from $110m in 2024 to $111.9m in 2025.
The New Zealand arm’s profit also grew, up from $10.8m in 2024 to $13.4m in 2025, a 24.7%.
The business opened two new New Zealand stores over the year, including one in Manawa Bay Outlet Centre in Auckland and one in Frankton, Queenstown. The Timaru store was closed at the end of August 2024.
Post year end, the Hamilton central store has been refurbished and has reopened in late August.
Hallensteins, which includes the business’ New Zealand and Australian stores, had the most challenging performance.
Total revenue for Hallensteins was virtually flat, down 0.14% year-on-year with $107.3m compared to $107.5m in 2024.
However, Hallensteins’ net profit took a significant turn, down 38.1% from $5.3m in 2024 to $3.3m in 2025.
Hallenstein Glasson group chairman Warren Bell said while it was a challenging year for the brand, the second half saw encouraging improvements on the prior corresponding period.
During the year a new concept store design was rolled out in the business’ Silverdale location, while its Queen St store in Auckland moved to an improved location before reopening in October.
The group did close the Upper Hutt store in Wellington at the end of July 2025.
In Australia, the business plans on opening a permanent site in Robina in November 2025, following a successful pop-up, and will continue to look for further opportunities as they arise.
Digital sales across the group represented 18% of group revenue for the year, broadly in line with the prior period, as overall online sales grew 6.7% year-on-year.
The business was shocked by the sudden resignation of former chief executive Chris Kinraid at the start of September, expressing its “sincere regret” at his departure.
Asked to comment on his resignation and whether the group had confirmed a replacement, Hallenstein Glasson declined to comment.
At the time of his resignation, the group praised Kinraid’s leadership, and said he had “been instrumental in delivering strong growth in revenue and earnings to the group, during a challenging economic environment”.
That leadership has carried over into the first seven weeks of the new financial year, with group sales up 12.9% on the prior corresponding period.
This has been driven primarily by the Australian market and the ongoing contribution from stores opened or refurbished during the 2025 financial year.
The group did stress that current trading performance shouldn’t be seen as indicative of results through key trading months in the lead-up to Christmas.
Crucially for the New Zealand market however, trading conditions remain mixed. The group highlighted the continued impact of cost-of-living pressures on discretionary spending across both Glassons and Hallenstein despite some moderate signs of improvement.
The group’s directors declared a final dividend of 30.5c per share to be paid on December 12, 2025, taking the full-year dividend to 55c per share.
The business will provide a further update at its annual shareholder meeting in December 2025.
Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.