Mighty Ape CEO no more: General manager appointed to report to Australian parent company Kogan
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Grant Henry has been appointed as the new leader of ecommerce retailer Mighty Ape, stepping into the role of general manager, and will report to senior management at parent company Kogan in Australia.
The ASX-listed and Australian business has chosen not to appoint an individual to the more traditional chief executive position after former CEO Robert McEwan departed in December.
Henry, who has 25 years retail experience and joined Mighty Ape in December after 10 years as general manager at EB Games, told The Post the decision to not appoint him as CEO came as part of plans to develop “a one team model”, whereby the business was working to align itself closely with the Australian business, which operates marketplace Kogan.com and the Dick Smith brand.
“We really are taking the best learnings from Australia and the learnings from the local team here to make sure that we've got first in class leading ideas, products and processes moving forward, to make sure that we're here for more than another 15 years,” Henry said.
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New Zealand-founded Mighty Ape dragged down Kogan’s profitability in the first half of its financial year, with sales down more than 13%, making a A$8.2 million loss in the six months to December 31. This was despite the retail group posting double-digit earnings and revenue growth.
Kogan.com lifted gross sales by 21% in the first half of the 2026 financial year to A$501.6m, and grew its after-tax profit by 16% to A$12m.
Meanwhile, sales at Mighty Ape fell 9% to A$70.8m, and it made an after-tax loss of A$3.8m.
Despite a strong December, the online retailer’s sales revenue declined by more than 30% in January, during the start of its second half.
Henry said Mighty Ape remained New Zealand's biggest online retailer.
Asked about the slide in sales, and disruption at Mighty Ape, Henry said the retail landscape “hasn't been great over the last couple of years … and that's not unique to Mighty Ape”.
He said the brand had made changes and already embarked on moves for a turnaround. “We're endeavouring to optimise our inventory; make sure that we've got the right product for our consumers, making sure that we heavily lean into the New Zealand retail DNA and bring new products like we are today, to put in products that are value-led, and to make sure that we continue to look at our operational costs, that’s what the Auckland team are really focused on at the moment.”
Henry said Kogan was “cautiously optimistic” about Mighty Ape’s outlook.
Mighty Ape recently re-platformed its website and moved to a marketplace model, offering a wider selection of products on its website that are not necessarily stocked and immediately available in its website.
Henry said plans for the rest of the year included further work to broaden out its insurance offering and the product range of items that it knew sold well, such as games and books.
Some have pointed to concern about Mighty Ape’s push into insurance and mobile plans rather than focusing on its products, but Mighty Ape says it is possible to do both successfully.
On the call with The Post was also Ron Gelberg, chief partnerships officer of Kogan, who is responsible for the expansion of multiple insurance products including Mighty Ape’s newest Car and Pet Insurance offerings. He said Kogan wanted to expand both parts of the business in New Zealand, like it had done in Australia with Kogan.com.
“I don't believe it's a product versus service thing, you can do both. If you look in Australia, Kogan.com has grown both in its verticals. I believe that needs to be, and should be, also here in New Zealand. Yes, we are expanding into the vertical area, but that won't be to the detriment of our core brand, our sales are in the products that we sell, that will continue.”
Gelberg said the group’s recent increase in profitability was the result of growth from its insurance products and mobile plans.
Mighty Mobile was growing faster than Kogan Mobile New Zealand, and expected the products continue to increase sales, he said.
“Insurance has been successful in Australia. There is no reason for it not to be successful in New Zealand. As far as I'm concerned, we will continue to increase the numbers,” Gelberg said.
“As much as there have been issues, IT issues and so on previously … if you look at our customer service, if not the best, it is certainly one of the best, the best customer service you will get.”
Referencing earlier concerns about the direction of the business and claims it was not resonating with customers, he said despite the “reset and reconciliation”, Mighty Ape was still a beloved brand in New Zealand with hundreds of thousands of customers annually.
“We’ve taken a hit in the last year or so, but we are working hard to turn around to create growth.
“I have no doubt that we are going to see growth in the business.”
After an organisational restructure to transform the business last year, Mighty Ape has been hiring new staff, and plans to hire an additional four to five staff members for its North Auckland support office in Silverdale.
“Some of the team members on the ground in Auckland have actually been unshackled a little bit in regards to some of their daily tasks, to get back into what's important, which is making sure that we find the right product, a value-led proposition,” Henry said of the reorganisation of business.