How Does New Wave Group Company's Operating Model Create Value?

New Wave Group operating model builds on a portfolio of owned brands-including Craft, Cutter and Buck, and Cotton Classics-offering corporate uniforms, high-performance sportswear, and premium gift assortments. The platform provides customization, private-labeling, and omni-channel wholesale and direct-to-business sales.

Organizations need consistent, high-quality branded apparel and merchandise across geographies and channels; athletes and consumers want performance and identity-led products; retailers and corporate buyers demand dependable supply, compliance, and customization. New Wave Group solves scale, brand quality, and lead-time variability.

Centralized sourcing, shared IT and logistics, and group-wide procurement drive lower unit costs and faster inventory turns; brand-led pricing and customization capture higher ASPs (average selling prices). In 2025 the group reported gross margin expansion versus 2024 driven by higher branded sales mix and procurement synergies (company-reported margin improvement of approximately +120 bps year-on-year).

New Wave Group business strategy intentionally balances cyclical corporate apparel with more resilient sports/leisure and gift categories to avoid over-reliance on one trend. The operating model centralizes services-finance, IT, CSR, supply chain-while keeping brand autonomy, enabling portfolio management and faster acquisition integration. See Strategic Position of New Wave Group Company for more context: Strategic Position of New Wave Group Company

The Promo channel, driven by volume contracts and recurring procurement, accounted for roughly 48 percent of net sales in 2025 and delivers scale across geographies; this is the primary revenue stream underpinning the New Wave Group operating model.

Retail direct-to-consumer sales capture higher unit margins and brand premiums, while complementary services (customization, logistics, and label programs) add incremental revenue and enhance portfolio management and operational efficiency.

Monetization blends volume-based B2B contracts with premium retail pricing; New Wave Group maintains pricing power reflected in a full-year gross profit margin of 49.0 percent in 2025, using centralized sourcing and supply chain optimization to protect unit economics.

Scale from Promo volumes plus margin uplift from Retail drives value: 2025 revenue reached 10,019 million SEK with operating profit of 1,141 million SEK and an operating margin of 11.4 percent, supported by a low-cost sourcing base and centralized services that lower costs per unit.

New Wave Group operating model benefits from an equity ratio of 53.0 percent in fiscal 2025, enabling opportunistic M&A and capex while limiting financing strain. Nordic promotional-market leadership and a growing North American presence (~25 percent of 2025 sales) diversify revenue and reduce single-market dependency.

Scale across promotional and consumer brands supports procurement leverage and cost savings via New Wave Group centralized services and shared logistics. Investments in ERP and digital transformation in New Wave Group operating model aim to lift operational efficiency and accelerate the transition toward a higher-margin brand house.

Reported earnings are sensitive to SEK/USD moves; a stronger Swedish krona compressed 2025 operating profit from U.S. operations materially. Heavy reliance on Asia-based manufacturing ties margins to raw-material price swings and geopolitical risk, affecting the impact of New Wave Group supply chain optimization and value.

In 2025 the model showed resilience - stable leverage and positive cash flow - yet fragility from currency and input-cost volatility; management targets a return to a 20 percent operating margin. The ERP transition and successful integration of acquisitions will determine whether New Wave Group value creation accelerates or remains constrained in 2026; see the Business Case History of New Wave Group Company for context.