Internet Sales Flow at Coldwater Creek
Fourth-quarter direct sales at Sandpoint, ID-based women’s apparel merchant Coldwater Creek rose 18%, to $142.3 million for the three months ended Feb. 3. Direct sales accounted for nearly 39% of the company’s total fourth-quarter net sales, which increased 29%, to $366.6 million. Internet sales jumped 35%, to $98.4 million, while retail sales rose 37.5%, to $224.3 million. All that sales growth didn’t prevent a 3% slide in net income, however, to $15.9 million down from $16.4 million.
For fiscal 2006, direct sales rose 20%, to $390.4 million from $325.1 million in fiscal 2005. Total sales for the year rose 35%, to $1.05 billion from $780 million. Internet sales rose 33%, to $263.7 million, and retail sales increased 46%, to $664.2 million from $454.5 million, due largely to the opening of 65 additional stores, bringing the total to 239. Net income jumped 33%, to $55.4 million.
Strong Direct Sales for Urban Outfitters
Philadelphia-based Urban Outfitters turned in solid numbers in direct sales for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Jan. 31. The parent company of apparel and home goods cataloger/retailers Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters and clothing manufacturer/marketer Free People reported a 23% leap in fourth-quarter direct sales, to $52.6 million. Total net sales for the quarter increased 13%, to a record $360.8 million. Net income inched up less than 1%, to $35.7 million.
For fiscal 2006, direct sales totaled $153.7 million, representing an 18% increase from $130.5 million the previous year. Total revenue increased 12%, to a record $1.22 billion up from $1.09 billion. But net income tumbled 3%, to $116.2 million down from $130.7 million.
2Q Revenue Rises at Neiman Marcus Direct
At upscale apparel and decor mailer Neiman Marcus Direct, which includes the catalog and online operations for Neiman Marcus and Horchow and the Bergdorf Goodman Website, fiscal second-quarter sales rose 6%, to $225.9 million from $213.0 million. For the quarter ended Jan. 27, the Dallas-based parent company Neiman Marcus posted sales of $1.30 billion, a 7% increase from the $1.19 billion reported for the second quarter of last year. And net earnings soared, from $3.0 million a year ago to $41.0 million.
Cutter & Buck’s Direct Division in Growth Mode
Sales at Seattle-based sportswear manufacturer/marketer Cutter & Buck decreased 3%, to $30.3 million for the fiscal third quarter ended Jan. 31. Net income fell 40%, to $300,000 from $500,000. But sales from the fledgling consumer direct business rose 46%, to $3.5 million from $2.4 million.