While many retailers in Australia and New Zealand are stuck in the slow lane, Hallenstein Glasson has turned mall foot traffic into momentum. Its youth-focused, low-price fashion and a steady push into physical stores have helped the stock top New Zealand's benchmark over the past year. Think trend-led styles priced to move, placed where young shoppers already hang out.
Analyst Paul Laxton Koraua at Forsyth Barr says the earnings run has legs and the company still has plenty of white space in Australia. In his words: "The opportunity to roll out stores is large." He added, "They've done a lot of work to get the model right."
Hallenstein Glasson owns womenswear label Glassons and menswear chain Hallensteins. Across Australia and New Zealand, it runs roughly 130 brick-and-mortar outlets and fulfills web orders to places such as the US and Singapore. Based on Bloomberg calculations, Glassons Australia contributes roughly 58% of group revenue.
UBS Group AG, led by analyst Marcus Curley, wrote that sales are "supported by a strategy of targeting high-traffic, competitive locations and a strong proposition among younger consumers." That matches what shoppers are doing on weekends: "mallmaxxing" - using malls to socialize offline. That trend is reviving malls in the US, and an expanding middle class is driving new shopping-center development throughout Asia.
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In the year to Aug. 1, total sales climbed 20%, helped by a 29% leap at Glassons Australia. Over that stretch the company gave several stores a refresh, shifted one to a larger site, and added a new location in Sydney's Inner West. An August opening in Miranda, in Sydney's south, drew big crowds as people raced for freebies and vouchers.
Last month, the retailer said it is scouting additional Australian locations as suitable sites pop up. It also noted that conditions remain difficult, highlighting that shifts in consumer spending, currency moves and operating costs could influence this year's trading and profitability.
Even as Hallenstein Glasson widens its footprint, shoppers at home are cautious. Australians are grappling with higher living costs, and New Zealand households are pulling back as prices bite. The company didn't respond on Tuesday to a request for comment on its stock move.
Hallenstein Glasson took its current shape in 1985 when Hallenstein Brothers and Glassons combined. Dating to 1873 in Dunedin, Hallenstein Brothers was established by German-born Bendix Hallenstein along with his brothers, who went on to create New Zealand's first domestic clothing factory. Glassons began in 1918 in Christchurch, started by Charles Glasson. Former CEO Tim Glasson is the largest individual shareholder, holding about 18%.
Separately, the Glasson family last month bought 49% of Auckland's Westfield Albany from Singapore's GIC Pte. for NZ$308 million, a purchase the New Zealand Herald reported as the country's biggest single-asset retail deal on record, citing the broker on the transaction.
Keep an eye on the push to open more stores in Australia, the staying power of mall traffic, and how those collide with headwinds like tight household budgets, currency swings and rising costs.
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