Direct Sales Up 35%% at Urban Outfitters
First-quarter net sales at Urban Outfitters (Nasdaq: URBN), which mails the Anthropologie catalog, increased 14%, to $107.0 million for the three months ended April 30. New stores accounted for most of the increase, though catalog and Internet sales increased 35%, to $9.5 million from $7.1 million a year ago. In addition to the Anthropologie apparel and home accessories catalog, the company launched an Urban Outfitters book this spring.
Net income at the Philadelphia-based cataloger/retailer increased 34%, to $6.4 million from $4.8 million for the first fiscal quarter of last year. Gross profit margins increased to 35.4% of net sales from 34.2% last year. This gain was primarily due to the higher initial margins associated with the continued growth of its private labels and better sourcing of apparel merchandise.
Profits Down at Vermont Teddy Bear A 10% rise in the cost of goods sold took some of the stuffing out of Vermont Teddy Bear Co. (Nasdaq: BEAR). Net income available to common stockholders for the fiscal third quarter ended March 31 was $971,000, down from $1.6 million last year. Net income declined to $1.0 million, compared with 1.7 million last year. Net revenue at the Shelburne, VT-based gifts manufacturer/marketer was essentially unchanged at $14.5 million.
Shhh! Loss Widens at MediaBay Spoken-word audiotape marketer MediaBay (Nasdaq: MBAY) reported a net loss of $1.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, compared with a net loss of $759,000 for the comparable quarter of 2002. Sales at the Cedar Knolls, NJ-based company increased 13%, to $10.7 million from $9.5 million last year. The company’s Radio Spirits catalog accounted for $1.1 million of the increase. General and administrative expenses rose to $3.5 million from $2.5 million last year.