After six years, KMD Brands' Oboz is yet to find its footing

After six years, KMD Brands' Oboz is yet to find its footing
KMD Brands has reduced the value of Oboz by $40 million in its books. (Image: KMD Brands)
Gregor Thompson
Retail analysts and KMD Brands shareholders are struggling to find evidence that buying Oboz in 2018 for $103 million was a good idea. The segment, which primarily sells outdoor shoes wholesale to American retailers, provoked frank questioning at KMD Brands’ annual general meeting last week. “Oboz has been a perennial loss maker, notably suffering from cost blowout over the last few years, with sales only slightly higher than in 2019 largely due to the currency translation effect of a very weak NZ dollar,” one s...

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