Founded in 1998, Glue Store is an Australian sportswear, streetwear and young fashion retailer, stocking brands including Nike, Adidas, Stussy and Carhartt. Glue Store forms part of the Next Athleisure group which also includes Trend Imports, a wholesale business specialising in sales, distribution and marketing, offering a portfolio of international and local brands to major department stores, multinationals and independent retailers.
With the business making an EBITDA loss of AUD $5.9 million, Next Athleisure was facing a high risk of insolvency.
Our Role
- Acquired the business in 2019 from the Australian subsidiary of UK athleisure retail group, JD Sports Fashion
- Implemented a detailed turnaround plan based on optimising the retail portfolio and product offering
- Provided additional working capital to redevelop the company’s ecommerce sites and invest in new store opening
Results
- After two years of ownership, the business returned to profitability, generating AUD $3.6 million EBITDA
- Having successfully turned the company around, Next Athleisure was sold to Accent Group, an Australian fashion wholesale and retail group with an existing portfolio of complementary brands