Signature Eyewear, Inc. reported net income of $462,000 on net sales of $20.8 million for its fiscal year ended October 31, 2010. This compares to net income of $675,000 on net sales of $23.3 million in the prior fiscal year. Signature attributed the decrease in net sales during the fiscal year primarily to delivery disruptions by its Chinese vendors and the weak domestic economy.
The decrease in net income was principally due to the decrease in net sales. The Company was able to offset this in part through an $888,000 reduction in selling expenses and a $601,000 reduction in general and administrative expenses.
Net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010 was $47,000 on net sales of $4.9 million. This was Signature's 24th consecutive profitable fiscal quarter.
Michael Prince, Chief Executive Officer of Signature, stated, “We are pleased to report a profit for the year despite the continuing recession. While the delivery delays by our Chinese vendors adversely impacted our 2010 operating results, we believe those delays are behind us. We have ceased ordering from certain vendors and have revised our ordering schedule to more efficiently balance increased production times with customer demand.”
Prince continued, “Signature's challenge for fiscal 2011 is to replace the revenues lost by the expiration of our bebe and Hummer eyewear licenses on June 30, 2010. We took a significant step by establishing the Signature Fashion Group in November 2010. SFG will design, manufacture and market women's footwear and fashion accessories. We will introduce our first women's footwear line, under our own Rough Justice brand, in the spring of this year. Additionally, we have already received purchase orders for delivery in the second quarter from three footwear retailers for private label sales.
“Our plan for fiscal 2011 also includes increasing our efforts to sell eyewear and sunwear to mid-size retail optical chains, department stores and Internet optical retailers, and developing international sales by expanding into smaller foreign markets. We are launching Bobby Jones Sunwear, Hickey Freeman Eyewear and Rough Justice Eyewear in the late spring of 2011. We are also taking actions to reduce operating expenses to offset as much of the loss of revenue as possible.”
Signature Eyewear is a leading designer and marketer of prescription eyeglass frames and sunglasses under internationally-recognized brand names such as Carmen Marc Valvo, Cutter & Buck, Hart Schaffner Marx, Laura Ashley, Michael Stars, and Nicole Miller. Signature Eyewear's proprietary brands include Dakota Smith Eyewear, the Signature Eyewear Collection and the soon-to-be-launched Rough Justice.
