Alloy Ends Year in the Black
Cataloger and promotional services provider Alloy (Nasdaq: ALOY) reported net income of $23.3 million for the year ended Jan. 31. That’s a substantial improvement from fiscal 2001, when the company lost $15.6 million.
Total revenue for fiscal 2002 was $299.3 million, up 81% from $299.3 million the previous year. Merchandise sales from its Generation Y-oriented catalogs and Websites rose 35%, to $167.6 million from $124.1 million. Revenue from sponsorships, marketing promotions, and the like rose 217%, to $131.8 million. In addition to the Alloy catalog of apparel for teen girls and young women, the New York-based company owns BMX supplies title Dan’s Competition and extreme-sports gear catalog CCS. It bought rock-and-roll memorabilia cataloger Old Glory Distributing in December.
Fourth-quarter revenue rose 62%, to a record $103.7 million. Merchandise revenue increased 36%, to $63.7 million, due largely to increased circulation. Net income for the quarter soared to $8.1 million from $1.5 million the previous fourth quarter.
Brookstone Books Big Profit Tools and gadgets cataloger/retailer Brookstone (Nasdaq: BKST) posted significant bottom-line gains for the quarter and the year ended Feb. 1. The Nashua, NH-based company, which mails the Hard-to-Find Tools, Gardeners Eden, and Brookstone catalogs, reported a 122% increase in annual net income, to $12.0 million from $5.3 million for fiscal 2001. Brookstone’s annual net income includes a one-time gain on curtailment of retiree medical plan of $642,000. Annual sales increased 7%, to $375.9 million from $352.9 million. Catalog and Internet sales increased 3%, to $65.6 million. Comparable store sales rose 4% for the year.
For the quarter ended Feb. 1, Brookstone posted net income of $27.4 million, an increase of 21% from $22.3 million the previous fourth quarter. Sales rose 9%, to $185.2 million from $169.8 million. Direct-to-consumer sales rose 8%, to $30.1 million, despite circulation cuts. Comparable store sales increased 8% for the quarter.
Restoration Hardware Slashes Net Loss A 33% increase in catalog and Web sales led cataloger/retailer Restoration Hardware (Nasdaq: RSTO) to post a 9% rise in annual revenue and to slash its annual net loss.
For the year ended Feb. 1, the marketer of home furnishings lost $3.5 million on sales of $400.3 million. For fiscal 2001, Restoration Hardware had lost $35.8 million on sales of $366.5 million. Comparable store sales increased 6%.
For the fourth quarter, sales were $155.1 million, up 7% from $144.4 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2001. Direct sales increased 26%, while comparable store sales rose 3%. The Corte Madera, CA-based company reported net earnings of $9.7 million, a turnaround from the net loss of $12.0 million in suffered for the fourth quarter of 2001.