G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. reported sales declined 30.3 percent in the fourth quarter and 35.0 percent in the full year ended January 31. The company predicted sales to climb 13.6 percent in the first quarter.
Morris Goldfarb, G-III’s chairman and chief executive officer, said, “The resiliency and flexibility demonstrated by our high-performing teams has been nothing short of amazing. Our entrepreneurial culture, with a merchant-led focus, proved to be invaluable as we responded to the casual trend by designing the right merchandise for our retail partners. We further elevated our position as a key supplier of choice for a broad range of apparel and accessories. We ended fiscal year 2021 with continued improvement in our wholesale operations and completed the restructuring of our retail operations.”
Goldfarb concluded, “We enter fiscal year 2022 in a good inventory position, which is weighted toward casual product that remains in high demand. As the year progresses, we believe there will be an increasing desire for dressier apparel and accessories. We are working closely with our retail and vendor partners to be in a position to bring these products to market in a timely manner. Our strong financial position and liquidity enable us to continue to fund our operations, as well as consider acquisitions.”
Net sales for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2021 decreased 35.0 percent to $2.06 billion from $3.16 billion in the prior year. The company reported GAAP net income for the fiscal year of $23.5 million, or 48 cents per diluted share, compared to $143.8 million, or $2.94, in the prior year.
The company has completed the restructuring of its retail operations segment and has permanently closed the Wilsons Leather and G.H. Bass stores. Included in the company’s results for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2021, are net losses from the Wilsons Leather and G.H. Bass store operations of $55.7 million, or $(1.14) per diluted share, compared to $31.7 million, or $(0.65) per diluted share, in the prior year’s comparable period. The results for each period reflect direct store operations including impairment charges, but do not include any allocated corporate overhead charges, shared administrative expenses, or shared distribution expenses. These operating results for Wilsons Leather and G.H. Bass are presented solely to provide the historical operating results of the portion of the company’s retail operations segment that was closed and are not intended to be used to develop expectations for future results of the company or to indicate any future level of profitability of the company.
For the fourth quarter ended January 31, 2021, net sales decreased 30.3 percent to $526.2 million from $754.6 million in the fourth quarter last year. The company reported GAAP net income for the fourth quarter of $14.6 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, compared to $25.3 million, or $0.52 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter last year.
Included in the company’s fourth-quarter results are net losses from the Wilsons Leather and G.H. Bass store operations of $8.6 million, or $(0.17) per diluted share, compared to $15.9 million, or $(0.33) per diluted share, in the prior year’s comparable period.
Outlook
As there continues to be uncertainty associated with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its results, the company is only providing guidance for the first quarter of fiscal year 2022, ending on April 30, 2021.
For the first quarter of fiscal year 2022, G-III said it expects net sales of approximately $460.0 million, which compares to $405.1 million in the same period last year. Last year’s net sales for the first quarter include $19.3 million for the Wilsons Leather and G.H. Bass stores. GAAP net income for the first quarter of fiscal year 2022, is expected to be in the range of $0.05 and $0.15 per diluted share. This compares to a GAAP net loss of $(0.82) per share in last year’s first quarter, which includes a net loss per share of $(0.33) associated with the Wilsons Leather and G.H. Bass store operations.
Photo courtesy GIII Apparel
