Berkshire Hathaway reported its revenues among its apparel and footwear brands, which includes Russell Athletic and Brooks, declined $81 million, or 1.9 percent, in 2016, according to its just-released 10K filing. The decline reflected lower footwear sales and the impact of a divestiture by Fruit of the Loom in 2015.
Apparel and footwear brands in the segment include Fruit of the Loom, Russell, Garan, H.H. Brown Shoe Group, Brooks and Justin Brands.
Pre-tax earnings of its apparel and footwear brands increased 22 percent in 2016, primarily attributable to lower restructuring costs and a loss in 2015 from the disposition of a Fruit of the Loom operation, partly offset by lower earnings from its footwear businesses.
Berkshire’s apparel brands are part of the holding company’s Consumer Products segment, which also includes batteries (Duracell), leisure vehicles (Forest River), custom picture framing products (Larson Juhl) and jewelry products (Richline).
Overall sales in its Consumer Products segment grew in 2016 by 21.8 percent to $11 billion from $9.06 billion in 2015. The sales gain in the segment reflected the inclusion of Duracell, which was acquired in 2016, and a 12 percent increase at Forest River, a manufacturer of leisure vehicles.
Consumer Products’ pre-tax earnings increased 12.6 percent to $92 million. The earnings increase reflected increased earnings from Forest River and apparel and footwear businesses, partly offset by pre-tax losses of Duracell. From its acquisition date, Duracell incurred approximately $109 million in transition, business integration and restructuring costs. Forest River generated a pre-tax earnings increase of 28 percent, primarily due to increased sales volumes and higher gross margins.
Photo courtesy Justin Brands
