Sharper Image cuts its 2Q losses
High-tech gadgets cataloger/retailer Sharper Image (Nasdaq: SHRP) reduced its second-quarter net loss to $600,000, a huge improvement over last year’s second-quarter loss of $3.7 million. The San Francisco-based company says that its increasing portion of proprietary products have allowed it to increase gross margin.
For the second quarter ended July 31, total revenue was $102.4 million, up 24% from last year’s $82.8 million. Catalog sales increased 33%, to $29.0 million from $21.8 million a year ago. store sales increased 20%, to $58.4 million; comparable store sales were up 5%. Internet sales increased 23%, to $12.2 million from $9.9 million.
Tough times continue for Concepts Direct Multititle cataloger Concepts Direct (Nasdaq: CDIR), whose catalogs include Linda Anderson Collectibles, Snoopy Etc., and Colorful Images, posted a second-quarter net loss of $3.1 million. That’s more than double the $1.4 million that the gifts marketer lost for the second quarter of last year. Gross profit margin declined to 35% from 44% a year ago, primarily due to increased inventory liquidation efforts. Concepts Direct posted a 21% increase in second-quarter sales, to $11.8 million for the three months ended June 30 from $9.8 million last year.
Longmont, CO-based Concepts Direct, which laid off about 100 employees, or 27% of its work force, in July, is also cutting catalog circulation to inactive customers to decrease costs. “We have also been restructuring the way catalogs are merchandised, analyzed, produced, and mailed in an attempt to optimize performance. These initiatives, although well under way, will take several mail cycles to determine if they will be successful,” president Philip A. Wiland said in a statement.
Record 2Q for Jos. A. Bank Hampstead, MD–based cataloger/retailer Jos. A. Bank Clothiers (Nasdaq NM: JOSB) concluded a better-than-expected first half of the year by announcing record second-quarter sales. For the three months ended Aug. 3, net sales were $51.9 million, up 13% from $46.1 million for the second quarter of 2001. Combined catalog and Internet sales rose 34%, to $7.4 million from $5.5 million. Net income rose 224%, to $942,000 from $291,000 last year.
“Based on our better-than-expected earnings performance during the first half of this year, strong cash flow projections, and the anticipated opening of 17 new stores during the third and fourth quarters, we have increased our earnings guidance for the second half of fiscal year 2002,” CEO Robert N. Wildrick said in a statement. “If sales continue to exceed expectations we will consider a further upward revision of our earnings guidance for the full year.”
Anthropologie book boosts Urban Outfitters’ bottom line Retailer Urban Outfitters (Nasdaq: URBN) nearly doubled its second-quarter net income, thanks in part to its Anthropologie apparel and home décor catalog. The Philadelphia-based company reported that selling, general, and administrative expenses decreased due to improved efficiencies in the direct operations.
For the quarter ended July 31, net income was $6.3 million, compared with $3.2 million last year. Net sales for the quarter increased 26%, to $101.0 million from $80.4 million last year. Direct-to-customer sales, which includes the Anthropologie catalog and Website, shot up 38%, to $6.7 million from $4.2 million a year ago.