Macpac growth outstripping Kathmandu

Macpac is targeting growth in Australia under its new ownership. Photo / NZME

Outdoor clothing and camping equipment retailer Macpac claims it is growing faster than competitor Kathmandu and is looking to ramp up expansion plans.

The company told the Sydney Morning Herald that it was planning to more than double sales and was aiming to expand store numbers to between 85 and 90 in total - most of which would be in Australia.

Christchurch based Macpac is opening a further three stores in Australia this year taking its store number in the country from 17 to 20.

It said this would continue to ramp up in the next few years with a target of opening 10 Australian stores a year from 2017 at the same time as Kathmandu is planning to slow store openings and focus on same-store sales.

Macpac chief executive Alex Brandon said the company had been profitable in Australia since opening there seven to eight years ago, and the focus now was on expanding the brand under its new private equity owners.

Australia's Champ Private Equity bought a majority stake in the company in December last year for an undisclosed sum, reported to be around A$70 million for 90 per cent of the business.

Brandon told the Sydney Morning Herald that while Kathmandu's results were fairly decent, Macpac was growing faster than them with stronger results.

Kathmandu last week reported total sales of $425.6m including a 7.4 per cent rise in Australian sales to $278.4m.

Brandon said Macpac had beaten its target of A$75m in sales for the year to March 2016 and was expecting to hit A$85m in sales in the coming financial year.

He said the company was targeting A$200 million in the next five years.

Macpac currently operates 44 retail stores, with 27 in New Zealand.