LaCrosse Footwear has taken a military order for $5.0 million for its Desert Acadia boot under the Danner brand. This is the second large military order the company has received in the last year. The last order, placed in December, totaled $4.9 million and accounted for 20.7% of Q1 sales.
David Carlson, EVP and CFO of LaCrosse told SEW that the company will add 50 to 70 new positions consisting of primarily sewers and shoemakers in order to continue providing the level of service expected in these military deals. Carlson said that LaCrosse is currently building about 30% of its product and sourcing the remaining 70% of goods produced.
He said the company will continue to build product as long as its customers see a value in the process. Many of these military orders are restricted to the purchase American-made product.
Carlson also said that LaCrosse is not receiving these orders under the contract / bid system; rather the company is taking orders from the military just as they would any other customer and providing after-market product.
Shipments of the latest order and the corresponding revenues will be spread out between the third and fourth quarters. The companys stock jumped nearly 20% when the first deal was announced, but Wall Street is a little more cautious this time around. BOOT shares were up 5.6% for the week last week, closing at $8.14 on Friday.
