C&J Clark Limited of England, the parent of the Clarks brown shoe brand, reported sales declined 3.2 percent to £1.49 billion ($2.3 bn) in its year ended January 31. Results were impacted by declines in the U.S. and the Americas due to discounting pressures and damage to a supplier’s factory in Vietnam that led to shortages of Clarks Originals shoes and men’s’ Gore-Tex styles.
Pre-tax profits still rose 1.4 percent to £121.5 million ($186.9 mm) due to lower pension and interest costs.
According to an article in The Telegraph, Clarks same-store sales in the U.K. and Ireland fell 3.6 percent, hurt by warm autumn weather and Black Friday hurting U.K. sales. U.S. fell 10.6 percent due to weakening traffic, discounting and a shift in consumer spending towards the internet.
The Telegraph article is here.
