Kogan founder and chief executive Ruslan Kogan said in its ASX statement that the company’s consistent focus on delivering value was driving significant momentum across the business.
However, the same could not be said for Mighty Ape.
“We have made good progress at Mighty Ape, undertaking a deliberate operational and inventory reset to position the business to replicate the Kogan.com strategy and consistently deliver market-leading value to our customers in New Zealand,” Kogan said.
“I’m encouraged by the early signs of recovery as we implement the One Group Strategy, and excited about progressively returning Mighty Ape to a position of strength over the second half.”
The One Group Strategy integrates Mighty Ape’s team with Kogan’s to centralise inventory procurement, align warehousing, marketing and operating processes to drive efficiency.
Inventory management has been a key issue for successive leaders of Mighty Ape. Previous managing director Robert McEwan reduced the company’s inventory by 32% over the reporting period.
That corresponds to the inventory value dropping from A$20.8m to A$14.2m.
The company’s operating costs as a percentage of revenue also reduced over the half, falling from 36.4% to 29.9%.
Despite these improvements, the company’s first trading update on the second half hasn’t provided improved results.
For the month of January 2026, Mighty Ape’s gross sales fell 13.3% compared to the prior corresponding period to A$8.3m, while revenue fell 32.2% to A$5.5m.
Grant Henry, general manager of Mighty Ape, is the fourth leader in three years to take the reigns of the troubled marketplace.
New leader
Mighty Ape has also welcomed its latest general manager in Grant Henry, who replaced the outgoing McEwan in December 2025.
Henry is now the fourth manager/chief executive of Mighty Ape in just three years.
Henry has extensive retail experience after working with EB Games for 25 years, most recently as the New Zealand arm’s general manager for the past 10 years.
EB Games announced it would shut down its New Zealand business in January.
Now as head of Mighty Ape, Henry will oversee the company’s continued strategic reset and greater integration with parent Kogan.
Henry said the retail landscape was wide and varied, but believed there was room for new verticals as well as the company’s traditional offering.
“We’ve been in the retail landscape now for over 15 years delivering those well-known facets of retail. Retail needs to evolve and we need to grow with our consumers, and we understand that there’s enough room for other products to come in and for us to do well with those products,” Henry said.
“We’ve done very well with the verticals to date and we’re looking to extend that further and move forward with that. I think there’s a happy medium to be struck with continuing to sell the things that we’re renowned for and then offering new products, and we’re endeavouring to do that.”
He said as part of the wider Kogan group the company would benefit from greater purchasing power for new products and ranges, especially now that its inventory refresh had progressed.
Insurance push
One new initiative Henry will oversee straight away is the launch of new car and pet insurance additions, joining Mighty Ape’s travel insurance offering.
The additions are provided through New Zealand-based insurance provider Cove and underwritten by Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Company, offering comprehensive cover for accidents and unexpected vet bills.
Kogan chief partnership officer Ron Gelberg said Mighty Ape had experienced 100% year-on-year growth across its existing offerings, including Mighty Mobile and Travel Insurance.
He hinted that coverage for home insurance and contents insurance could happen within the year, and that further expansion could be on the cards for its existing travel insurance policies.
Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.
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