Jarden Corporation, parent company to Coleman, reported that net sales for the third quarter increased 10% to $1.0 billion compared to $938 million for the same period in the previous year. Net income was $51.3 million, or 78 cents per diluted share, in the period, compared to $24.0 million, or 40 cents per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2005.
Sales in the Outdoor Solutions division, which includes Coleman, declined 2.7% to $208.4 million for the quarter compared to $214.1 million last year. This $5.7 million decline in sales at Coleman was due to over $12 million of hurricane-related sales in Q3 of 2005 not being repeated in 2006. Excluding the hurricane-related sales last year, coleman sales would have increased roughly 3% for the quarter. Operating profits for the outdoor solutions segment decreased 10.5% to approximately $12.8 million for the period compared to $14.3 million last year.
Coleman's strategy for 2007 is to expand its presence in the specialty market to complement its strength in its core mass and sporting goods channel. In order to implement this strategy, the company has been actively developing new products for the specialty market, some of which will be launched next year. The company is expanding the number of new SKUs introduced, from 180 last year to “well over” 200 this year. These new introductions will refresh the products currently on the shelf and expand into new categories.
Coleman is also rolling out and expanding its store-in-store program. Last year, they rolled out 40 concept shops as a test, and saw some positive results. This year, they will be expanding the program with one of their larger customers. Jarden management is expecting “good margin expansion” for Coleman in 2007, some of it is on the back of new products, some on the back of new distribution, and some on the back of continued growth.
