Popular children's stationery chain Smiggle is renewing its emphasis on the primary school-aged market, after years of flirting with much younger kids.
The owner of the back-to-school brand, Premier Investments, plans to offer more collections and licensed products that resonate with its original core demographic of six-12 year olds.
It'll offer a refreshed "Smiggle Club" loyalty program and expand into new categories important to older children, such as bath and body, leisure and personalised products.
The changes will be introduced gradually in the first half of 2026/27, which for Premier Investments begins on July 31.
The reset follows a strategic review into the Smiggle business, which has been underperforming.
The chain generated $140.5 million in sales in the 26 weeks to January 24, down 10.7 per cent from a year ago, although Smiggle's store network shrunk 8.7 per cent during that time.
Smiggle went from 309 to 282 stores over the half-year, from a pre-COVID peak of 352 in July 2019.
Premier Investments also said on Friday it was reshuffling its executive team because it was a leaner business after selling off its apparel brands to Myer.
Smiggle interim chief operating officer Georgia Chewing has been appointed managing director of Smiggle, while Judy Coomber will become managing director of Peter Alexander, its sleepwear business.
Premier Investments interim chief executive John Bryce will return to his role as chief financial officer.
The company reported an overall net profit of $101.7 million for the first half of fiscal 2026, down 13.1 per cent from a year ago.
Sales dipped 0.5 per cent to $452.8 million, with Peter Alexander performing well and its sales rising almost five per cent to $312.3 million.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Toner said the result was a "decent outcome given the soft trading environment".
Investors also welcomed the result, with Premier Investments shares gaining more than four per cent to $13.05 in morning trade.
Apart from Peter Alexander and Smiggle, it also owns about 25 per cent of appliances maker Breville.
Premier Investments is forecasting underlying earnings of about $183 million for the 2026 financial year, down from $195.4 million in the previous year.
The group declared an interim dividend of 45 cents per share, after paying no dividend in the previous first half.
