Goldwin Inc., the Japanese company that sells premium ski and compression wear in the United States and distributes The North Face and other outdoor brands in Asia, reported sales in its fiscal six months ended Sept. 30 rose 4.8 percent to ¥26.0 billion ($213 million) compared with the first half of fiscal 2015.
Gross margin slipped 90 basis points to 42.9 percent from a year earlier, while SG&A reached 42.0 percent of net sales, down from 42.9 percent.
Operating income surged 37.9 percent to ¥429 million ($3.5 million), but operating margin declined 40 basis points to 1.25 percent of net sales compared with the first half of 2014. Net earnings fell 45.8 percent to ¥290 million ($2 million) on top of a 24.4 percent decline a year earlier, due largely to non-recurring store closing and retirement expenses.
Goldwin ended the period with finished goods and merchandise inventory valued at ¥9.14 billion ($76 million), down 3.2 percent from a year earlier.
For the full year ending March 31, 2015, Goldwin still expects net sales and operating income to grow 1 and 3.6 percent respectively to ¥58 billion and ¥2.5 billion.
In addition to its own Goldwin and C3fit apparel brands, which it sells in the United States, Goldwin owns rights to more than two dozen brands in Japan, South Korea and other parts of Asia, including The North Face, Danskin, Helly Hansen, Icebreaker, Filson, Fischer and Speedo.
–Charlie Lunan
