Lululemon Athletica Inc.boosted total sales in the first fiscal quarter, but the web drove nearly half of the growth, as comparable store sales declined slightly for the Canadian athletic apparel maker.
E-commerce sales accounted for 19.7% of total sales during the quarter, up from 17.2% during the same period last year.
LuluLemon.com is undergoing a full global redesign to allow the merchant to showcase a larger assortment of products online, CEO Laurent Potdevin told analysts on a conference call today. The new site is scheduled to launch this year and will feature an enhanced checkout process and personalized product recommendations.
“We drove positive trends in traffic, conversion and brand engagement, along with a continued acceleration of our e-commerce business,” Potdevin says. “To support our long term goals, we are intentionally striking a strategic balance between strong growth and investments within innovation and infrastructure.”
For the period ended May 3, Lululemon reported:
- Online sales, or what the e-retailer refers to as direct-to-consumer net revenue, of $83.6 million, a 26.7% increase from $66.0 million in the first quarter of 2014.
- Company-operated store sales of $314.1 million, up 9.0% from $288.1 million. The retailer opened 14 stores worldwide during the quarter.
- Total sales were $423.5 million, a 10.1% increase from $384.6 million.
- Comparable store sales decreased 1%.
- Net income was $47.8 million versus $19.0 million.
Lululemon is ranked No. 108 in the Internet Retailer 2015 Top 500 Guide.
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