West Marine, Inc. emerged as one of the beneficiaries of the first quarter’s unusual weather when it reported the warmest temperatures in decades drove boat owners into its stores to buy higher margin maintenance products early.
WMAR reported net revenues reached $121.5 million in the first quarter ended March 31, up 6.7 percent from the $113.8 million for the 13 weeks ended April 2, 2011. That enabled the company to cut its quarterly loss almost in half to $6.25 million.
Revenues in its Stores segment reached $108.1 million, up $7.9 million, or 7.9 percent. Comparable store sales grew by 4.3 percent versus the same period last year.
The company reported higher sales in all core categories during the first quarter, especially maintenance-related products, which it attributed to the dry, warm weather across most its markets.
Revenues from stores opened or expanded in 2011 and the first three months of 2012 accounted for $13.8 million, or 11.4 percent of revenues in the Stores segment. That offset the loss of $9.2 million from stores closed during these same periods.
Port Supply segment revenues, which represent sales to wholesale customers through distribution centers, slipped 3.6 percent to $6.3 million as the company continued to shift wholesale fulfillment to hubs in its stores.
Net revenues in Direct-to-Customer segment for the quarter were $7.1 million, a decrease of $100,000, or 0.7 percent, compared to the same period last year. Domestic sales demonstrated solid growth, but were offset by lower international sales.
Gross margin increased by 260 basis points to 24.3 percent, driven primarily by a 1.7 percent improvement in raw product margins. There also was a sales mix shift away from higher-priced, but lower margin items, such as electronics, to higher-margin maintenance-related items.
