Lululemon Athletica Inc.’s online sales came up strong in the second quarter, jumping 29.4% to $82.2 million from $63.5 million during the same period last year, the company reported.
Direct-to-consumer sales equaled 18.2% of $453.0 million in total revenue in the quarter ended Aug. 2, up from 16.2% of total revenue in fiscal Q2 of 2014, Lululemon reported.
International expansion and the launch of new women’s pants are going as planned, CEO Laurent Potdevin told analysts Friday on the Q2 earnings call, according to a transcript from Seeking Alpha. But he said the company has pushed back its plans to roll out a new e-commerce site by the end of this year, and now is targeting the first quarter of next year.
“We recently welcomed Miguel Almeida to lead our global digital transformation. Miguel is a passionate champion of using the digital platform to deepen our connection with our guests to personalize experiences, while also extending and amplifying brand resonance globally. I am thrilled to welcome Miguel to Lululemon and truly start to leverage our digital opportunity,” Potdevin told analysts. Lululemon, No. 108 in the Internet Retailer 2015 Top 500 Guide, in June named Almedia executive vice president, digital.
The website redesign aims to better showcase the brand, Potdevin told analysts. “With Miguel coming onboard, and as we prioritize our digital initiative for the remainder of the year, we have decided to launch our new website in Q1 of 2016. This shift in timing allows us to free up some bandwidth to focus on optimizing traffic and conversion on our current platform at a critical time of the year. It also creates more runway to fully leverage the new site design when we launch early next year,” he said.
Women’s pants and bra sales were up by double digits, and Lululemon’s men’s category grew 31%, he said.
International expansion, especially in major European and Asian cities, is a key factor in the chain’s growth, Potdevin said. “Our Covent Garden store which was our first store to open in the London region and our newer King’s Road store both continues to perform well. In addition, we see this store driving incremental traffic and sales to our UK e-commerce site,” he said.
“Later this month, I will be heading to Dubai for our first opening in the Middle East, which will be followed by second store before year-end,” Potdevin said.
For the quarter ended Aug. 2, Lululemon reported:
- Online sales of $82.2 million, up 29.4% from $63.5 million in the year-ago quarter.
- Company-operated store sales of $339.8 million, up 15.6% from $294.0 million
- Total sales were $453.0 million, up 15.9% from $390.7 million.
- Comparable-store sales increased 1%, but excluding the impact of a stronger dollar were up 6%.
- Net income of $47.7 million compared with $48.7 million.
For the six months ended Aug. 2, the retailer reported:
- Online sales of $165.9 million, up 28.1% from $129.5 million a year ago.
- Company-operated store sales of $653.9 million, up 12.3% from $582.1 million.
- Total sales were $876.6 million, up 13.1% from $775.3 million.
- Comparable-store sales decreased 2%, but excluding the impact of a stronger dollar increased 2%.
- Net income of $95.5 million compared with $67.7 million.