Despite unfavorable weather in November and December, boating retailer West Marine, Inc. report sales for the fourth quarter ended Jan. 1 edged up 3.3% to $107.3 million from $103.9 million a year ago. Comparable store sales improved 1.6% for the quarter.
CEO Geoff Eisenberg said he was “delighted” with the results and pointed to a “revitalization” by West Marine over the last few years despite a challenging market environment.
Eisenberg noted that the company has experienced noteworthy results from several new initiatives, including the consolidation of smaller stores in a new larger format, casual and performance apparel initiatives, expansion of port supply wholesales, and the increased focus on the eCommerce business.
Net revenues in the company’s stores segment for the quarter were $94.0 million, an increase of $3.0 million, or 3.3%, compared to the same period last year. Management noted that the primary driver of this growth was gains in sales to Port Supply (wholesale) customers through store locations as part of the company’s efforts to better serve the group and to leverage store facilities.
The company’s Port Supply segment revenues from distribution centers for the quarter were $5.6 million, a decrease of $0.1 million, or 1.0%, compared to the same period last year. Net revenues in the Direct Sales segment for fiscal fourth quarter of 2010 were $7.6 million, an increase of $0.4 million, or 5.4%, compared to the same period last year.
