Zumiez edges into first-quarter profit

By

Robin Driver

Published
Jun 7, 2019

Lynnwood, Washington-based apparel, accessories and hardgoods retailer Zumiez Inc. announced improved sales on Thursday, progress which helped the company pull itself out of loss in the first quarter.

The company’s total net sales for the first quarter ended May 4, 2019 rose 3.2% to $212.9 million, up from $206.3 million in the prior-year period. Comparable sales increased 3.3%.
 
Largely thanks to this progress, the retailer was able to report net income of $0.8 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $2.6 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, in the same period in the previous year.

“We delivered better than expected results to start the year due to strong performance in the last two months of the first quarter,” said Zumiez CEO Rick Brooks in a release. “Our performance reflects a continuation of our strategy focusing on full price, full margin selling and leveraging our broad assortment to service the customer. Our customer-focused execution continues to drive comparable sales gains and margin expansion and the operating model we have built around a singular cost structure continues to generate increased profitability.”
 
In the second quarter, Zumiez expects to see net sales in the range of $220 million to $224 million, reflecting comparable sales growth of between 0.0% and 2.0%. 
 
The company currently operates through a network of 707 stores, 606 of which are located in the US, while the rest are spread throughout Canada, Europe and Australia. Over the course of fiscal 2019, Zumiez intends to open approximately 15 new retail locations, with up to 6 stores slated to open in North America, 7 in Europe and 2 in Australia.