July 25th, 2012

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Fossil Inc. Adds to Executive Ranks

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

Fossil Inc. has added some new blood to its executive ranks. The Richardson, Tex.-based watch and accessories maker has tapped Edward Robben as senior vice president and chief information officer, and Joanne Calabrese as senior vice president of retail merchandising.

Before joining Fossil, Robben served as senior vice president, chief information officer and executive board member for J.C. Penney Co. Inc. Robben will report to Fossil ceo Kosta Kartsotis.

Calabrese, who joins Fossil from JCR Consulting, a San Francisco-based retail consulting firm, will be responsible for the company’s direct merchandising and outlet concept strategy. Calabrese will report to president of retail Jennifer Pritchard.

Fossil also promoted Tom Kennedy to executive vice president. He had previously served as the company’s senior vice president of its retail division since 2009. In his new role, Kennedy, a former president of Pacific Sunwear of California Inc., will be responsible for the Fossil brand, including product development and creative. He will report to vice chairman Mark Quick.

“We are excited about leveraging Tom’s leadership skills and vast product experience in his new role within the company,” ceo Kartsotis said. “Additionally, we believe the additions of Ed and Joanne will be invaluable in building upon our global infrastructure and increasing the size of the Fossil footprint worldwide.”

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

Jones Group Q2 net income rises

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

US footwear and apparel company the Jones Group has reported a 55% jump in second-quarter net profit, despite revenue declining slightly over the period.

The owner of the Nine West, Anne Klein, Rachel Roy and Kurt Geiger brands today (25 July) said net income surged to US$8.1m over the quarter ended 30 June. Sales fell to $855m from $887m in the same period of the prior year.

SG&A expenses fell 9.4% to US$304m and the company recorded significantly lower financing costs of $8.8m against $37m in the same period of last year.

The Company reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.22 for the second quarter of 2012, compared with adjusted earnings per share of $0.33 for the same period last year.

“We are pleased with the results we achieved in the second quarter, particularly our improved gross margin, which exceeded expectations,” said CEO Wesley Card. ”Our gross margin improvement of 180 basis points was the result of the inclusion of Kurt Geiger for a full quarter, improvement in many segments as a result of conservative inventory planning and control.”

The company said its board has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.05 per share to all common stockholders of record as of August 10, 2012, for payment on August 24, 2012.

Posted in Apparel, Brand, Finance, News, Retail, accessories | No Responses »

Sears to launch women’s wear line; Metaphor

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

US retailer Sears is set to launch a women’s wear line called Metaphor. The range will be targeted towards young, fashion conscious women with an emphasis on career wear, the company said.

The collection, which is set to reach stores in August, will include jackets, trousers, shirts and dresses, as well as footwear and jewellery.

“We have worked to make Sears a destination  for women by expanding our portfolio to include more fashion and trend-right brands,” said Lana Krauter, SVP and president, Sears Apparel.

“Metaphor brings that new and fresh look to Sears in the contemporary career category, giving working women access to beautiful clothes at affordable prices.”

Posted in Apparel, Brand, News, Operations, Retail, ladies | No Responses »

Second round of Portas Pilots announced

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

The UK government today (25 July) unveiled another 15 towns that will take part in an initiative spearheaded by retail consultant Mary Portas to revive the British high street.

The 15 towns join the 12 centres announced in May, and will receive a share of the GBP1.5m (US$2.3m) government-backed scheme. A further GBP300,000 will come from the Greater London Authority to fund three London pilots.

Local government minister Grant Shapps congratulated the 15 pilots but called for the 392 towns that had not been chosen to receive a share of a GBP5.5m package.

“Today I’d like to congratulate the 15 town teams that, in the face of stiff competition, have been selected to be the next Portas Pilots,” he said.

“But this is just the tip of the iceberg, and I’m determined that we don’t turn our backs on the other 392 Town Teams who put their plans forward to revive their high streets.”

Retail consultant Portas said: “Whilst I shall continue to fight for the other 27 ‘recommendations’ in my review, I am looking forward to seeing 15 more British towns putting their plans into action.”

Meanwhile, British Retail Consortium director general Stephen Robertson said: ”The pilots are a good start towards meaningful action which could help town centres turn their fortunes around.

“Announcing more pilots will provide a wider platform of support for regeneration across England and we want to back that by pledging our own package of practical help to them at no cost.

“Offering the 27 access to our valuable business information will help them better manage and plan their activity, making it more likely they can deliver the revival we all want.”

The towns set to join the scheme include: Ashford, Berwick, Braintree, Old Town in Leamington, London Road in Brighton, Hatfield, Lodge Lane in Liverpool, Waterloo, Forest Hill; Kirkdale and Sydenham in the London Borough of Lewisham, Chrisp Street; Watney Market and Roman Road in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Loughborough, Lowestoft, Morecambe, Rotherham and Tiverton.

The 15 additional towns takes the total number of Portas Pilots to 27.

Nelson in Lancashire, Wolverhampton, and Stockport in Greater Manchester were among the12 pilots announced in May that are making good progress, the government added.

Posted in Apparel, Media, News, Operations, Retail, accessories | No Responses »

Stella McCartney launches Little Miss Stella childrenswear

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

Stella McCartney designs a capsule childrenswear featuring ‘Little Miss Stella’, the Little Miss character inspired by her.

Little Miss Stella is the inspiration for McCartney’s new seven-piece Kids’ capsule collection, and appears on everything from babygros, jumpers and T-shirts, to bags and felt-tips.

The line, starting from £27 for a T-shirt, will be launching at the end of next month in time for school. Should you fancy getting hold of that hag-to-fab fable (only 1,000 were originally printed for the show), Stella stores will be giving away an extended version with each purchase for a limited time.

Posted in Apparel, Brand, Children, News, Retail | No Responses »

Rocky Brands’ second-quarter profit slips

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

Rocky Brands saw lower sales and profit in the second quarter as the US footwear company said it faced declining sales and distribution issues following severe storms in Ohio.

The company said yesterday (24 July) for the period ended June 30, the Nelsonville, Ohio-based firm earned $218,600, or 3 cents a share, a tenth of the $2.3 million, or 30 cents, earned in the same period a year ago.

Sales fell 15.1 percent to $44.4m from $52.3m in the same quarter of the prior year. Wholesale sales for the quarter were $34.7 million, down from $40.8 million, primarily due to a reduction in sales in the hunting category. Retail sales slipped to $9.1 million, from $10.9 million. Military segment sales were flat at $600,000.

The company said that on 29 June, a severe storm knocked out the powerto more than 660,000 homes and businesses in Ohio, including Rocky Brand’s distribution center in Logan, which mean that its shipping capabilities were temporarily suspended. It caused some $2.5m worth of shipments to move from the second quarter into the third quarter, and impacting the bottom line by 6 cents a share.

“We faced a significant challenge at the end of the quarter with the shut-down of our distribution centre,” said president and CEO David Sharp.

“Our teams did a great job to ensure that all orders were shipped as soon as possible once power was restored early in July. Excluding the impact from this disruption, our business for the most part performed in-line with expectations however we did experience some softness in our hunting category. We believe this was primarily attributable to retailers buying closer to season and operating with leaner inventory positions compared with past years. Our work, western, and commercial military product lines continue to gain traction with the key retailers in their respective channels as new product introductions are resonating with our target consumers. Equally important, our balance sheet is in good shape with clean inventory levels and funded debt down 24% from a year ago.”

Rocky ended the period with cash of $1.9 million, down from $3.2 million this time last year, as well as long-term debt of $29.9 million, down from $35 million.

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

Under Armour raises FY forecasts after strong Q2

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

Performance apparel and footwear maker Under Armour has raised its full-year operating profit expectations after recording strong second quarter growth helped by the success of its footwear range.

Net revenues increased 27% in the second quarter of 2012 to $369 million compared with net revenues of $291 million in the prior year’s period. Net income increased 7% in the second quarter of 2012 to $7 million compared with $6 million in the prior year’s period.

Net income growth trailed net revenues growth, primarily due to a planned shift of marketing expenses into the second quarter. Diluted earnings per share for the second quarter of 2012 were $0.06.

Second quarter apparel net revenues increased 23% to $253 million compared with $205 million in the same period of the prior year, driven by strength across Men’s, Women’s, and Youth apparel businesses. Direct-to-Consumer net revenues, which represented 29% of total net revenues for the second quarter, grew 35% year-over-year.

Second quarter Footwear net revenues increased 44% to $67 million from $47 million in the prior year’s period, primarily driven by new 2012 running styles, including the debut of UA Spine. Second quarter accessories net revenues increased 21% to $39 million from $32 million in the prior year’s period.

On the back of these results, the company raised its full-year forecasts. It now expects revenue to reach $1.8-1.82bn, up on the previously anticipated $1.78-1.8bn. Operating income is now expected to reach $205-207m from the $203-205m forecast earlier.

“As we head into the second half of the year, the opportunities for our brand have never been greater,” said chairman, CEO and president Kevin Plank. ”Sustaining our momentum in footwear and women’s will be a priority and we are elevating the messaging behind these opportunities to help drive further awareness with our consumers. This month, we took the next step to introduce the brand to the global stage with our sponsorship of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club of the Barclays Premier League.”

Posted in Activewear, Apparel, Brand, Finance, News, Retail, accessories | No Responses »