RYU (Respect Your Universe) Apparel Inc., the maker of urban athletic apparel, reported revenue in the first quarter of 2018 was Canadian $907,915 , 94 percent higher than revenue of CDA$467,003 during the same period in 2017.

Gross profit improved to CDA$419,890, or 46 percent of sales, from CDA$219,256, or 47 percent, in the same period a year ago.

“We started the year with exciting developments on all fronts of the business and we are pleased that first quarter results are consistent with our 2018 retail revenue target of 100 percent YoY growth,” said Marcello Leone , CEO. “This is our ninth consecutive quarter of growth and we are especially proud, given that the first quarter in our industry is the slowest. Our brand continues to resonate, as RYU was recently a finalist in the World Retail Awards. Our team is working hard to execute our business plan with the recent influx of capital, which in part will be used to open our three new U.S. retail locations, which are under construction, launch our new ryu.com website and kick-off our global advertising campaign in the second half of the year.”

During the three months ended March 31, 2018, the company achieved the following milestones:

  • RYU’s expansion plan is on target to have eight stores by the end of 2018 and to achieve +100 percent year-over-year growth in retail revenue. In the first quarter of 2018 the company began construction planning at its retail store in Brooklyn and secured the leases to its second and third U.S. store locations in the state of California. This expansion gives RYU exposure in New York City and Los Angeles. The three stores are under construction and have targeted openings in the third quarter of 2018.
  • E-commerce revenue grew 50 percent against the same period in 2017 as traffic to ryu.com increased by 57 percent during the same comparative period.
  • RYU secured new strategic wholesale accounts with Nordstrom, Equinox Canada and Rise by We that align with its brand value proposition.
  • RYU was selected as a finalist for the World Retail Awards in two categories: Retail Start Up of the Year and Social Media Campaign of the Year (#RYUOneMoreRep). The company was honored that RYU was one of only two Canadian companies that qualified as finalists among many global retailers across all the World Retail Awards categories.
  • RYU appointed THRSXTY/Exposure as its new global Agency of Record for creative strategy and marketing services. THRSXTY/Exposure is a marketing services agency based in London, Tokyo, New York and Paris, specializing in fashion, retail and lifestyle brands. A new global advertising and branding campaign will launch in conjunction with RYU’s U.S. retail store openings in the third quarter of 2018.
  • The Jeremy Bieber Group is acting in a Global Chief Influencer role for RYU.
  • The company closed non-brokered private placements on January 19 and February 19, raising gross proceeds of $5,651,945 and $3,997,808, respectively.
  • Shareholders exercised 52,060,615 warrants for total proceeds of $10,089,488. The company is pleased to report that 84 percent of the $0.20 warrants subject to the acceleration of their expiry dates, as announced on February 20, 2018, were exercised by March 29, 2018.