Donut King and Gloria Jean’s were the standout performers during a challenging six months for Retail Food Group (RFG), which saw reduced footfall and sales across its restaurant portfolio
Gloria Jeans is set for further growth in Australia following RFG’s acquisition of CIBO Espresso | Photo credit: Erman Gunes/Shutterstock
Retail Food Group (RFG) has posted strong half-year sales momentum for its café, coffee and bakery (CCB) segment in Australia.
Reporting on the six months to 31 December 2024, RFG said the segment, which comprises 203 Donut King outlets, 136 Gloria Jean’s coffee shops, 75 Brumby’s bakery-cafés and 12 Beefy’s pie shops in Australia, had ‘successfully traded through challenging economic conditions’ amid a rockier set of results for its QSR brands.
RFG’s 750-outlet business in Australia generated network sales growth of 0.9% to AU$257.1m ($163.8m), with CCB brands generating 72.8% of group’s total network sales. However, the group’s QSR segment, which includes the Crust, Pizza Capers and Rack ‘em Bones chains, saw domestic sales fall 5.4% to AU$69.9m ($44.5m) year-on-year, leading to 0.5% decline in core brand like-for-like sales overall.
Group underlying EBITDA rose 4% year-on-year to reach AU$16m ($10.2m), with RFG closing a total of 32 ‘low performing’ outlets and opening 25 new stores during the period.
High inflation dented consumer confidence in Australia during 2024. However, many economists expect Australian businesses and households to benefit from lower interest rates and improved market conditions in 2025.
“We continue to invest in the quality of our retail systems to enhance our network whilst targeting short, medium and long-term growth opportunities,” said RFG CEO Matt Marshall, highlighting a new deal with
Restaurant Brands International (RBI) to launch the Firehouse Subs fast-food chain in Australia.
Espresso-based beverages also form a key part of RFG’s long-term strategy in Australia. In November 2024, RFG
acquired Adelaide-based coffee chain CIBO Espresso from Retail Zoo for AU$2.7m ($1.7m). Expected to be finalised in July 2025, the deal will see the discontinuation of the CIBO brand, with 22 stores in South Australia converted into Gloria Jean’s outlets.
In an investor presentation, RFG said it would invest AU$1.3m ($830,000) to rebrand and upgrade equipment at CIBO’s 18 franchised and four corporate-owned locations, with the latter group expected to rebrand as Gloria Jean’s stores by the fourth quarter of 2025.
Gloria Jean’s faces growing competition from a resurgent Starbucks in Australia, which opened 11 stores in 2024 to reach 78 outlets, including its first in Western Australia. Nevertheless, weakened consumer confidence
remains a challenge for both coffee chains, with RFG outlining a strategy to attract cost-conscious consumers with a store refurbishment programme and new beverage ranges, including protein chillers.
RFG also highlighted opportunities for Gloria Jean’s internationally, where the coffee chain operates 536 outlets across 28 licensed markets. The group’s master franchise partner in Turkey is yielding around 40 new stores annually, while a further four licensees are currently exploring opportunities in Europe.
Headquartered in Robina, Queensland, RFG is Australia’s largest food & beverage group, operating around 1,300 stores in 30 countries.