Guess Inc.’s online sales gains couldn’t overcome sliding sales in stores in the fiscal second quarter of 2017.
Guess, No. 278 in the Internet Retailer 2016 Top 500 Guide, reported e-commerce sales in the Americas region of $19.1 million, up 4.9% from $18.2 million last year. Online accounted for 8.4% of the apparel manufacturer’s sales during the quarter, compared to 7.8% last year.
Through the first half of 2016, Guess reported online sales of $39.3 million, up 8.0% from $36.4 million last year. Online accounts for 9.1% of overall sales, compared to 8.2% last year.
Those e-commerce sales growth percentages contrast with by the company’s store results in the Americas region. During the quarter, Guess reported store sales of $207.5 million, down 3.1% from $214.2 million last year. Through the first half of the year, Guess posted retail sales of $391.4 million, down 4.6% from $410.3 million in the year-ago period.
Guess does not break out e-commerce sales in other regions. On the company’s earnings call, CEO Victor Herrero told analysts much of Guess’s focus is going to be on its online sales abroad.
“Our European e-commerce business is also growing very rapidly,” he told analysts on the call, according to a transcript from Seeking Alpha.
Herrero is particularly excited about the upcoming Singles’ Day sales holiday on Nov. 11. The company began accelerating its sales efforts through JD.com Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s online marketplace Tmall Global about a year ago.
“We are very pleased with our cooperation with Tmall and JD,” he told analysts. “Tmall is one of the best platforms—I would say comparable to Amazon in the U.S.—but in China and we are very pleased with that.”
For the second quarter ended July 30, Guess reported:
- Sales in the Americas region of $226.6 million, down 2.5% from $232.5 million last year.
- Comparable-store sales decline of 3.2%. With e-commerce factored in, Guess’s comparable-store sales decline is 2.5%.
- Net earnings of $15.6 million, down 40.5% from $26.2 million.
For the first half of 2016, Guess reported:
- Sales in the Americas region of $430.7 million, down 3.6% from $446.7 million last year.
- A comparable-store sales decline of 4.4%. With e-commerce factored in, Guess’s comparable-store sales decline is 3.3%.
- A net loss of $13.4 million, compared with a $30.6 million profit.