👉 Background: Premier Investments is the ASX-listed retailer that owns some of Australia's largest retail brands like Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Portmans, Dotti. But, the jewels in its crown are Smiggle and Peter Alexander, as well as large ownership stakes in Breville and Myer.

👉 What happened: A few months ago, Premier made the big, bold move to expand both Smiggle and Peter Alexander to the UK. But it hasn't been the best of starts, according to The Australian, which got access to leaked docs.

👉 What else: According to these docs, Premier's first 3 Peter Alexander stores in the UK are 61% below forecast. On top of that, Smiggle is also nearly 19% behind forecast. While it’s still early days, it is a sobering reminder for retailers who try to expand overseas.

What's the key learning?

💡International retail expansion is not for the faint-hearted retailer… particularly when you’re coming from over the ditch in Australia.

💡Expanding overseas requires time and a significant investment:

• There’s re-building your brand
• There’s training up a whole new set of sales staff, who may not be familiar with the brand
• There’s also finding the right locations to hit your target demographic
  

💡Many Aussie retailers have attempted to expand overseas but came back with their tails between their legs:

• Country Road, who launched into the US but retreated back in 2002
• Bunnings who failed DISMALLY when they opened in the UK where they lost $165 million in 2018 and cost them over $400 million to retreat from UK

So, Premier will be hoping that its fortunes in the UK turn quickly.