Quill Contributes to Staples’ Strong Year
Office products cataloger Quill Corp. continues to be the most profitable segment within the North American Delivery division of Staples (Nasdaq: SPLS). But the Framingham, MA-based office supplies marketer as a whole performed well in fiscal 2001. It posted net income of $306.9 million, up 17% from $261.2 million for fiscal 2000. Cost-cutting efforts and fewer special charges accounted for the improvement, despite nearly flat sales. For the 52 weeks ended Feb. 2, total sales were $10.74 billion. For the 53 weeks ended Feb. 3, 2001, sales were $10.67 billion.
The North American Delivery business (Quill, Staples Contract, and the Staples Website and catalog) contributed $3.01 billion in sales for the year, up 8% from $2.78 billion for fiscal 2000. The division’s net income for the year was $205.6 million, up 83% from $112.1 million the previous year.
Henry Schein Annual Income Up 25% Fourth-quarter earnings at medical, dental, and veterinary supplies cataloger Henry Schein (NasdaqNM: HSIC) rose 22%, and annual net income jumped 25%, as higher sales to physicians’ offices offset softness in the dental supplies segment.
For the year ended Dec. 29, the Melville, NY-based company posted net income of $87.4 million, compared with $70.1 million for 2000. Fourth-quarter earnings were $27.1 million, up from $22.2 million the previous year year.
Annual net sales climbed 8%, to $2.6 billion from $2.4 billion. Fourth-quarter revenue increased 7%, to $698.2 million from $655.6 million.
Tiffany Catalog Sales Up, Overall Sales Down New York-based Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) suffered a 4% drop in annual net sales and a 9% decline in annual net earnings. For the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, the jewelry and upscale gifts cataloger/retailer posted earnings of $173.6 million on net sales of nearly $1.61 billion. For the previous year, net earnings had been a record $190.6 million on record sales of $1.67 billion.
For the fourth quarter, net sales declined 2%, to $565.8 million. Net earnings also fell 2%, to $82.7 million.
Catalog and Internet sales actually increased, both for the fourth quarter (30%) and for the year (23%). But business sales fell 23% for the fourth quarter and 13% for the year. As a result, sales within what Tiffany calls its Direct Marketing division, which consists of catalog, Web, and business sales, rose only 2% for the fourth quarter, to $61.4 million, and 3% for the year, to $160.7 million.
Catalog Sales at Peet’s Coffee & Tea Up 11% Emeryville, CA–based Peet’s Coffee & Tea (Nasdaq: PEET) enjoyed an 11% rise in annual catalog and Internet sales, to $11.7 million for the year ended Dec. 30. Total net sales for the multichannel wholesaler/retailer rose 12%, to $94.4 million from $84.3 million the previous year. Net income was $1.2 million, a turnaround from the $2.3 million net loss posted in 2000. The company said the improvement was due to improved margin, leveraged operating efficiencies, and lower interest expense.
Record Year, 4Q for Chico’s Apparel cataloger/retailer Chico’ s FAS (NYSE: CHS) is on quite a run, establishing company records in both fourth-quarter and annual sales.
For the fiscal year ended Feb. 2, net income rose 49%, to $42.2 million from $28.4 million the previous year. Net sales increased 46%, to $378.1 million from $259.4 million. Catalog and Web sales skyrocketed 277%, to $10.2 million from $2.7 million.
Fourth-quarter net income rose 72%, to $9.8 million, while net sales climbed 39%, to $101.4 million. Catalog and Web sales increased 71%, to $2.9 million.