BCF, Rebel and Supercheap Auto owner to return $1.7 million in Jobkeeper payments after bumper sales

The parent company of some of Australia's biggest retail brands such as Rebel and BCF will hand back around $1.7 million in JobKeeper payments to the Australian Government.

In an update to shareholders, Super Retail Group – who owns and operates Supercheap Auto, Rebel, BCF and Macpac – said record online sales have meant the company did not need wage assistance.

For the 26 week period until December 26, 2020, Supercheap Auto experienced 20 per cent sales growth, rebel experienced 15 per cent growth and BCF recorded a staggering 51 per cent growth.

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Online sales for the entire group increased by 87 per cent to $237 million, and now account for around 13 per cent of all transactions.

Anthony Heraghty, Group Managing Director and CEO of Super Retail Group, thanked his staff for adapting to the challenges presented by the global pandemic.

"The successful execution of the Group's omni-retail business strategy and the effectiveness of our supply chain and inventory management have been instrumental in fulfilling large volumes of customer orders and delivering a strong result for the first 26 weeks of trading," Mr Heraghty said.

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"The operating leverage which the Group has been able to achieve during a period of robust online sales growth clearly reinforces the profitability of our digital sales and, in particular, the scalability of our omni-retail platform."

Mr Heraghty said despite the very strong first half result the group remains cautious of predicting what the retail market will hold in 2021.

"While we remain cautious on the outlook for the second half given the uncertain economic environment, the Group has a resilient business model, underpinned by powerful brands with market-leading positions in growing lifestyle categories, an active customer base of 7.1 million loyalty club members and conservative balance sheet with a strong cash balance and no net bank debt."