R.G. Barry Corporation said its accessories segment, which includes the recently acquired Foot Petals women’s insole and Baggallini handbag brands, propelled its gross margin and net income in the second quarter ended Dec. 31, 2011.
The company, which also owns the Dearforms footwear brand, said sales for the period reached $55.6 million, up 12.0 percent from $49.7 million in the year earlier quarter. Gross margin jumped 670 basis points to 41.4 percent. SG&A increased 17.8 percent to $12.4 million, but remained essentially flat as a percentage of sales at 22.0 percent. The company reported net earnings surged 47.3 percent to $6.4 million, or 56 cents per share, up from $4.3 million, or 38 cents, in the second quarter of fiscal 2011.
DFZ reported first half net sales in its Footwear segment rose 4.8 percent to $90.1 million from $86.0 million in the comparable period last year, while gross margin for the business increased 350 basis points to 40.1 percent. In its Accessories segment, which includes Foot Petals and Baggallini, acquired in January and March last year, respectively, the company recorded first half net sales of $15.7 million, yielding a 58.1 percent gross profit as a percentage of net sales.
“Footwear, which is the largest component of our business and heavily tied to Christmas selling, fully met our revenue and profit expectations for the first half,” said Greg Tunney, president and CEO. “We also benefitted from the accretive nature and richer margins of our accessories business units, which performed as we had planned.”
Tunney said the company had successfully refocused its core footwear business on the Dearfoams brand and fully integrated the Foot Petals and Baggallini acquisitions. The company has resumed its hunt for other accessories brands that could help it reach its long-term growth and profitability objectives. “We have both the financial structure and business discipline to identify and acquire brands that will allow us to continue our evolution into a leading year-round provider of a variety of functional and fashionable accessories category products,” he said.
