The private vehicle behind Sportsgirl, Sussan and Suzanne Grae has posted a $20 million slide in profit, new accounts show, with labour costs rising faster than sales at the Naomi Milgrom-backed business.

ARJ Group is controlled by the billionaire businesswoman, who bought the three brands from her late father, Marc Besen. While the company does not regularly provide details of its finances, accounts lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission show profits fell from $34.8 million to $13.7 million in the 12 months to July last year.