March 21st, 2012

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Sak Brand Group Hires Footwear Head

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

The Sak Brand Group has announced John Licata will assume the role as head of footwear.

Licata, who has been in the industry for 27 years, was most recently VP of sales for Naturalizer at Brown Shoe Co. He also spent time as a VP at Stride Rite. He joins the 23 year old company where he will oversee The Sak and Sakroots shoe collections, which launched this spring, as well as Elliott Lucca, projected to hit in spring ‘13.

The executive said he was attracted to The Sak Brand Group’s solid handbag heritage, combined with its fresh passion and energy. “[The company] has a new feel, but with 23 years of strong branding,” Licata said. ”It’s very collaborative.” Licata added that he plans to use his new role to help The Sak Brand Group build strong relationships with its shoe retailers, as well as create up-to-the-minute styles that resonate with customers. “Take the DNA [of The Sak brand] and translate that into trend-right footwear,” he said. “It’s a winning combination.”

Sak Brand Group CEO Mark Talucci said in a statement that the company chose Licata for his deep knowledge of footwear. “We are confident that with John’s experience, coupled with the team’s resources, design talent and dedication, our footwear collections will be just as successful, if not more, than our handbags,” he said.

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Inditex full-year profit grows on international expansion

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

Spanish textile company Industria de Diseno Textil or Inditex, the world’s largest clothing retailer, saw full-year profit shoot up on the back of continued worldwide expansion as the company launched online stores for all its concepts and opened the first Zara stores in Australia, Taiwan, Azerbaijan, South Africa and Peru.

The owner of the Zara and Massmo Dutti brands announced today (21 March) that net profit rose 12% to 1.93bn euros, or $2.68 billion over the year ended 31 January, from 1.73 bn euros a year ago. Net sales rose 10% year-over-year to 13.8 billion euros, or $19.15 billion and increased in all geographic areas, namely Spain, the rest of Europe, the Americas, Asia and the rest of the world. Net sales in local currencies rose by 11%, while like-for-like store sales climbed by 4%. Between Feb. 1 and March 14, store sales in local currencies, adjusted for the leap year effect, were up 11 percent. The gross margin stood at 59.3 percent of sales, unchanged from the previous year.

The retailer opened 483 units in 2011, bringing its total to 5,527 doors on five continents. It opened stores across 49 markets and entered five, including Australia, Taiwan, Azerbaijan, South Africa and Peru. Inditex added 132 stores in China, 15 in Japan and 13 in South Korea, making Asia one of its most rapidly expanding markets. The company also announced plans to launch an online store in China during the next winter season.

In Europe, the company opened 233 new stores and now has e-stores in 18 countries. Inditex added 50 stores in Poland, 49 in Russia, 21 in Romania, 21 in Turkey and 17 in Italy.  Overall, the firm created 9,374 new jobs and closed the year with 109,512 employees.

The company said that its Australian, South African and Peru market entries represent further progress on the differential retail strategy it applies to markets in the Southern Hemisphere. “These collections, customised for southern countries’ seasons, drew a warm welcome from shoppers at the new Zara stores in Sydney, Melbourne, Johannesburg and Lima,” Inditex said.

Further, the Board of Directors will submit a proposal to the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders for 12.5% increase in the company’s dividend, to a total of 1.80 euros per share. This dividend will consist of a 0.90 euro per share interim dividend payable on May 2 and a 0.90 euro per share final and extraordinary dividend payable on November 2.

In 2012, Inditex plans to open between 480 and 520 stores, including its most recent Zara flagship on Fifth Avenue in New York, unveiled last week.

In Madrid, Inditex shares are currently trading at 72.22 euros, up 0.48 euros or 0.66 percent.

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Fred’s Q4 Profit Rises and Sees Higher Earnings In Q1

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

Fred’s, Inc. Wednesday said profit increased in the fourth quarter, helped by a marginal growth in revenues and a favorable tax adjustment.

Net income increased to $9.8 million from $8.6 million in the year-ago period. Earnings per share rose to $0.27 from $0.22. The latest results benefited from a favorable adjustment of $0.02 per share to the company’s income tax rate. On average, 10 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.25 per share for the quarter.

Fred’s total sales grew 2 percent to $497.6 million from $485.6 million. Analysts expected revenues of $498.31 million. Whilst comparable store sales for the quarter increased 0.1 percent on top of a 2.3 percent increase for the fourth quarter last year. During the quarter, Fred’s opened 16 new stores and seven express pharmacy stores as part of its 2011 operating plan.

Commenting on the results, Bruce Efird, Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are pleased to report an improved performance and solid results for the fourth quarter…Considering the ongoing challenges in the economy and an extremely competitive quarter, our marketing and operating strategies positioned us to manage gross margins and operating expenses, while maintaining the strength of our balance sheet.”

Looking ahead to the first quarter, earnings per share are projected in a range of $0.26 to $0.28 for the first quarter compared with earnings per share of $0.24 in the same period last year. Total sales are expected to increase in the range of 3 percent to 5 percent. Comparable store sales are expected to be around flat compared to an increase of 1 percent in the first quarter last year. Analysts expect first-quarter earnings of $0.28 per share on revenues of $504.56 million.

Earnings per share for 2012 are expected to be in the range of $0.96 to $1.04, representing an increase of 10 percent to 20 percent over last year. Excluding the impact of the favorable income tax rate on 2011 results, the increase in earnings per share is projected to be 13 percent to 22 percent in 2012. The additional week of operations in fiscal 2012 is expected to have a favorable impact of $0.02 in earnings per share. Analysts expect full-year earnings of $0.98 per share.

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Jochen Zeitz Named a Director of PPR

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

Jochen Zeitz has been named a director of the board of PPR, for a four-year term, and will chair the French firm’s newly created sustainability committee. Zeitz, whose appointment is subject to shareholder approval, will continue as head of the company’s sport and lifestyle division and as its chief sustainability officer.

PPR said in a statement today it wants sustainability to be a “key driver” of the group. In his role as chief sustainability officer, Zeitz has begun putting together regular profit and loss accounts of select PPR companies’ impact on the environment. The accounts put a monetary value on a business’ use of green services across the supply chain and will be rolled out across PPR’s luxury, sport and lifestyle brands by 2015.

“In joining the board of directors, Jochen will bring us his valuable expertise and experience in his fields of excellence which are key drivers for PPR: Extensive knowledge of the sport and lifestyle sector, and also in sustainability,” stated François-Henri Pinault, PPR chairman and chief executive.

Zeitz stated, “In deciding to dedicate more of my time towards my initiatives around conservation and sustainability, I am also looking forward to providing continued support for PPR’s strategy in the sport and lifestyle division, and helping to guide the group’s sustainable development as a member of the board.”

In 2008, when he was chief executive of Puma, Zeitz introduced Puma Vision, which is aimed at developing initiatives to drive the brand to cleaner, greener, safer and more sustainable systems and practices. In April 2010, he launched Puma’s long-term sustainability program, and in May 2011 he developed and announced the environmental profit and loss account.

In October 2010, Zeitz was appointed chief sustainability officer at PPR, and soon after launched PPR Home, a new and multi-tiered sustainability initiative across the Group.

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Ted Baker posts full-year sales jump

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

Ted Baker has announced a jump in full-year sales as it announced more international store openings in North America and Asia.

The UK clothing brand said that revenue increased 14.9% to GBP215.6m over the year ended 28 January. Profit before tax rose 0.1% to GBP24.3m, while profit before tax and exceptional costs rose 11.7% to GBP27.1m.

Exceptional costs included rent from stores that will not begin trading until 2012, set up costs around its expansion into China and a provision for bad and doubtful debts in Greece.

Retail sales in the UK and Europe rose 8.7% to GBP148.6m as US retail sales shot up 69.4% to US$34.9m.

Company founder and chief executive Ray Kelvin said that it plans to open stores in New York, Canada, Japan, Korea and China this year.

“The group’s excellent results for the year, delivered against a challenging trading backdrop, are testament to the strength of the Ted Baker brand, our collections and, above all, the energy and commitment of our team in bringing Ted to the world stage,” said Kelvin.

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