June 5th, 2012

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Brooks Brothers and Reliance Brands form JV

Tuesday, June 5th, 2012

US retailer Brooks Brothers is teaming up with Reliance Brands to form a joint venture in India to take its products to major cities across the country.

The deal will see the two companies open Brooks Brothers stores, which will carry its range of men’s wear and women’s wear, including clothing, sportswear and accessories.

“We have partnered with Reliance Brands because of their passion for the Brooks Brothers brand, their track record with other premium brands, and their expertise and connections within India,” said Brooks Brothers CEO Claudio Del Vecchio.

“We are incredibly fortunate to have them as partner as we enter this important retail market.”

Reliance Brands Limited, a unit of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, already has tie-ups with other brands to sell labels including Diesel, Ermenegildo Zegna, Kenneth Cole, Paul & Shark, Quiksilver, Roxy, Steve Madden, Thomas Pink and Timberland in India.

Posted in Activewear, Apparel, Brand, Collaborations, Men, News, Operations, Retail, accessories, ladies | No Responses »

G-III Apparel Q1 Loss Widens

Tuesday, June 5th, 2012

Clothing manufacturer G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. saw net losses widen during the first quarter despite sales rising over the period.

Net losses reached $847 thousand or $0.04 per share versus loss of $520 thousand or $0.03 per share last year. On average, six analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report loss of $0.04 per share. Net sales grew 16.5% to $229.45 million from the prior-year quarter. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $213.39 million.

Morris Goldfarb, G-III’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Our first quarter results met our expectations. We anticipate improved profitability for the full year as we expect input costs will moderate compared to prior year levels. Early booking trends for fall are good and give us confidence in our outlook for the full year.”

“We believe we have a clear strategic advantage for us that our major growth initiatives, across a variety of categories, are underpinned by some of the best brands in the world. We are building significant businesses in a number of important categories. We are creating several platforms that are expected to show operating margin improvements as we increase in sales volume. In addition, we plan to layer on additional brands to these platforms.”

Moving ahead, for its second fiscal quarter, the company is forecasting net sales of approximately $250.0 million compared to $230.0 million in the comparable quarter last year.

The company is also forecasting net income for the second fiscal quarter between $800 thousand and $1.6 million, or between $0.04 and $0.08 per share, compared to net income of $1.6 million, or $0.08 per share, last year. Analysts expect the company to earn $0.08 per share, on revenues of $249.58 million.

G-III Apparel reiterated its prior guidance for the full fiscal year ending January 31, 2013 and continues to forecast net sales of approximately $1.35 billion and net income of between $54.0 million and $56.0 million, or a range of $2.62 and $2.72 per share. Analysts expect the company to earn $2.70 per share, on revenues of $1.33 billion.

The company also continues to project EBITDA for fiscal 2013 to increase approximately between 11% and 15% to approximately $102.5 million to $106.0 million.

Posted in Apparel, Finance, News, Operations, Retail | No Responses »

Dollar General Q1 profit soars

Tuesday, June 5th, 2012

US discounter Dollar General Corp’s first quarter profit soared on the back of rising sales.

Net income was up 36% over the quarter ended 4 May to reach $213m from $157 million in the 2011 first quarter. Net sales rose 13% to $3.9bn, compared to $3.45 billion in the 2011 first quarter. Twenty one analysts had consensus revenue estimate of $3.83 billion for the quarter. Same-store sales increased 6.7 percent resulting from increases in both customer traffic and average transaction amount. Gross profit margin was flat at 31.5%. Earnings per share increased by 40 percent to $0.63 in the 2012 first quarter from $0.45 in the 2011 quarter.

Adjusted net income increased 29 percent to $215 million in the 2012 first quarter, compared to $166 million in the 2011 first quarter. Adjusted earnings per share increased 31 percent to $0.63 in the 2012 first quarter from $0.48 in the 2011 first quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.60 per share for the quarter.

The company raised its full-year forecast on the back of the strong performance. It now expects operating profit to be in the range of $1.62-1.66bn, up on the originally forecast $1.6-1.65bn.

The company raised its fiscal 2012 adjusted earnings outlook to a range of $2.68 – $2.78 per share, from the previous guidance of $2.65 – $2.75 per share.

The company continues to expect total sales for the 2012 fiscal year to increase 8 to 9 percent over fiscal year 2011, or 10 to 11 percent on a comparable 52-week basis. Same-store sales, based on a comparable 52-week period, are expected to increase 3 to 5 percent.

Analysts expect the company to report earnings of $2.77 per share on revenues of $16.05 billion for fiscal 2012.

Posted in Brand, Finance, News, Operations, Retail | No Responses »

Zuoan Fashion Q1 profits exceed estimates

Tuesday, June 5th, 2012

Chinese menswear company Zuoan Fashion said that first-quarter net income “exceeded our estimates” as it increased 40.9%.

The company said yesterday (4 June) that for the quarter ended 31 March, net income reached CNY67.4m from CNY47.8m in the same period of the prior year.

Revenue increased 32.3% over the period to CNY279.9m. Gross profit margin increased to 46.8% from 41.6% in the same period of the prior year. The company attributed the rise to increasing the wholesale price to distributors from 35% to 38% since the third quarter of 2011.

“We are very pleased that 2012 is off to a good start and believe we remain well-positioned to deliver on our strategic and financial objectives this year,” said chairman and CEO James Hong.

“Our solid first quarter performance reflects our ability to further penetrate China’s domestic market for fashion casual menswear.  First quarter revenue was within our forecasted range and net income exceeded our estimates.

“We believe our marketing efforts over the past year have led to increased brand recognition and greater customer demand.  Much of this success stems from our international initiatives which include our active participation in several international trade shows and our collaborations with Paris-based Nelly Rodi, and Japan fashion designer, Mr. Okada Hiroyuki, which together have culminated in a more fashionable and complete collection with greater variety and style.”

Posted in Apparel, Brand, Finance, Men, News | No Responses »

Hurley CEO Egeck leaves, replaced by founder

Tuesday, June 5th, 2012

Nike Inc. has announced that Hurley CEO Michael Egeck has left the company. Founder and chairman Bob Hurley will become CEO of the sports and surf-wear brand, on an interim basis.

Hurley will work closely with Nike Affiliates president Roger Wyett through the transition.

“I’d like to thank Michael for his work during his time with the brand. Hurley continues to be an important part of the Nike, Inc. portfolio as a deeply authentic and innovative surf brand, and serves as a key component of our integrated action sports strategy alongside the Nike brand and Converse,” said Wyett.

Egeck has been in the role for less than a year, joining at the beginning of October 2011. Previously, he was president of True Religion Brand Jeans and has held senior positions with VF.

The shakeup at Hurley follows last week’s announcement that Nike plans to sell its Cole Haan and Umbro brands.

Posted in Activewear, Apparel, Brand, Finance, Labor, News, Operations | No Responses »