J. Crew’s Q4 web sales drop 38% year-over-year
Despite poor performance for the year ended Jan. 31, with annual web sales down 20% and a 10% drop in overall revenue, J. Crew Group Inc. is expecting a better year ahead with improved merchandise and a new management team, says chairman and CEO Millard Drexler.
Web sales continued to decline sharply through Q4, however, dropping 38% to $29.6 million from $47.9 million in the year-earlier period. Full-year web sales fell 19.6% year-over-year, to $112.1 million from $139.4 million.
Web sales as a percentage of total revenue was 16.3% for the year ended Jan. 31, down from 18.2% the prior year.
J. Crew reported its only gain in its 42 factory outlet stores, where full-year sales rose 3.7%, to $79 million from $76.2 million. Retail store sales were flat at $408 million, while comp store sales declined 3%.
Operating income improved in Q4 to $1.9 million, up from a loss in the year-ago period of $2.1 million, while the Q4 net loss narrowed to $19.4 million from $21.7 million. For the full year ended Jan. 31, J.Crew posted an operating loss of $27.8 million, compared to an operating loss of $5.6 million the prior year.
Drexler says he was encouraged by customer response to new product offerings in Q4, however, and expects to build on that momentum. "We are pleased by the enthusiastic customer response to our new merchandising strategy," he says, noting that demand for some new products during the fourth quarter outstripped supplies. "We have been on a mission to restore quality, customer satisfaction and profitability. While it`s only March, early indications show that 2004 is off to a good start."
J. Crew operates 154 retail stores, JCrew.com, a catalog and 42 factory stores.
Back...
