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“We’ve gone to a platform provider and we’re in the middle of finalising things with them,” Murray said. “Their system allows you to seamlessly access those 35 countries.”
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The current system for overseas customers was “not an experience we hold ourselves to”, he said, and he was aware of Australian expats overseas who wanted to buy Peter Alexander apparel.
“We need to put a better foot forward,” he said. “So this provider will help us with the wiring and enable us to be more seamless.
“If you were sitting in the UK, the US, [or] the Emirates and you bought a pair of Peter Alexander pyjamas, it would be a much, much, much better customer experience.”
The company also said it had “identified 20 to 30 opportunities” to open new or larger stores in the country.
Smiggle and Peter Alexander are clearly Premier’s star brands: sales at the youth stationery brand jumped 30.3 per cent to $190.7 million, while the sleepwear brand had sales growth of 15.1 per cent to $261.7 million.
Premier is also doubling down on Smiggle’s expansion by adding 30 new stores, pursuing more wholesale avenues and considering global growth opportunities.
Sales at Smiggle jumped 30.3 per cent to $190.7 million.Credit:Adam McLean
The $4 billion company will pay shareholders a fully franked interim dividend of 70¢ a share, a 52.2 per cent rise on this time last year.
However, investors were left unimpressed with the results and expansion plans, sending Premier shares down 2.5 per cent in afternoon trading.
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Lew, a key shareholder in department store giant Myer, has been increasing pressure on the department store’s board amid concerns of underperformance, and recently successfully installed his long-time lieutenant Terry McCartney to the board.
While Myer’s more upmarket rival David Jones is now looking to cement itself again as a home of world-class brands after being acquired by Sydney private equity firm Anchorage Capital, Lew said a rejuvenated David Jones shouldn’t pose a problem for Myer.
“David Jones is premium and Myer is more everyday. Myer caters a lot more to the mass markets,” he said.