Big Dog Holdings, Inc. continues to shift the weight of its business into the successful formula for The Walking Company, working quickly to integrate other acquisitions into TWC as it move to make the chain it acquired out of bankruptcy in first quarter 2004 the centerpiece of future growth.
Comparable store sales at The Walking Company improved 7.0% for the fiscal fourth quarter, while comps at the Big Dog stores declined 6.6% for the period. For the year, TWC comps jumped 12.8%, while the Big Dogs stores declined 4.1% on a comp basis. Total revenues for Big Dog Holdings were up 6.6% for Q4 to $59.4 million, driven by a 0.6% consolidated comp store gain, about $3.0 million from new TWC stores and another $10.7 million from the acquired Steve Shoes and Footworks businesses, and a 23% increase in Internet sales for the period. Net income declined 12.1% for the quarter to $3.6 million, or 38 cents per diluted share, compared to $4.1 million, or 43 cents per diluted share in the year-ago period. Gross margins declined 60 points to 54.9% of sales in Q4.
For the year ended December 31, consolidated net sales were up 11.0% to $179.1 million from to $161.4 million in 2004 when TWC was only included in ten months of sales. Gross margins improved 30 basis points to 55.2% of sales for the year. Net income climbed 28.0% for the year to $4.7 million, or 49 cents per diluted share, compared to $3.7 million, or 40 cents per diluted share, in the prior year.
The company had a total of 268 stores opened at year-end, with 176 Big Dog stores and 92 Walking Company stores open at the end of the period. With the acquisition of Steve's Shoes, BDOG feels they will end fiscal 2006 with approximately 150 TWC stores and 150 Big Dog stores.
