ing Country Road Group posted earnings before interest and tax of AU$2.3 million for the year ended June 28, a swing of 113 per cent on the prior year’s loss. Group sales rose just 1 per cent, with comparable sales up 1.5 per cent, but gross profit grew faster still, climbing 3 per cent as the business leaned less on clearance and more on full-price selling.  CEO Steven Cook framed the results as the product of deliberate choices rather than a favourable trading backdrop. “At the start of the year, we set out to improve the quality of our sales, strengthen our inventory position and operate more efficiently,” Cook said. “While market conditions remained challenging, that discipline improved profitability, reduced inventory and provided the agility to respond to changing customer demand, helping us return the business to profit”. Central to the improvement was a 14 per cent reduction in inventory, a move designed to give the group flexibility rather than force it into the promotional cycle that has defined much of Australian apparel retail over the past few years. Its parent company Woolworths Holdings noted that the sector “remains intensely promotional, as retailers reduce excess inventory levels,” making CRG’s continued restraint notable against a backdrop of aggressive discounting across the apparel category. Repositioned brands do the heavy lifting The clearest evidence of strategy translating into results sits with Witchery and Politix, both mid-cycle in brand repositioning programs. Witchery delivered comparable sales growth of 9.5 per cent and brand gross profit growth of 16.5 per cent, while Politix posted comparable sales growth of 10.2 per cent and brand gross profit growth of 8.7 per cent. However, Country Road, the group’s namesake label, showed only incremental improvement through the first half but gained momentum in the second. Now the brand is entering the new financial year under new leadership, with Lucy Nutter now managing director across Witchery and Country Road. Mimco, meanwhile, has begun laying groundwork for its next growth phase by reconnecting with its brand heritage, while Trenery has sharpened its customer proposition through clearer positioning and a more focused assortment. The group has also continued investing beyond the immediate turnaround, launching a curated marketplace and rolling out a Shopify powered unified commerce platform intended to improve customer experience and operational agility. Cook’s language throughout his results commentary returned repeatedly to the idea of foundations. “Our focus has been on building stronger foundations, while ensuring each of our brands has a clear positioning, compelling product offer and the ability to grow sustainably over time,” he said. “We’ve made meaningful progress over the past 12 months and enter FY27 with a clear plan and a solid platform to build on”. For a group still operating with a 0.3 per cent EBIT margin, the road back to sustained health remains long. But after two years of writedowns and losses, disciplined execution rather than dramatic reinvention appears to be the strategy Country Road Group is betting on. Further reading: Country Road to adopt department-store approach under new leadership