Online sales increased slightly while store sales slid for apparel manufacturer and retailer Guess Inc. in the third quarter, and the company says it will invest more resources in digital initiatives to drive growth.
Guess, No. 278 in the Internet Retailer 2016 Top 500 Guide, reported online sales in the Americas region during the fiscal third quarter of fiscal 2017 of $20.5 million, up 2% from $20.1 million last year. Meanwhile, sales in its retail stores in that region fell to $195.4 million, down 5.4% from $206.5 million last year. E-commerce accounted for 10.5% of overall revenue in the Americas during the quarter ended Oct. 29, up from 9.8% last year.
Through the first nine months of fiscal 2017, Guess reported online sales in the Americas of $59.8 million, up 5.7% from $56.6 million last year. Sales in its retail stores fell to $586.8 million, down 4.9% from $616.7 million last year. Online now accounts for 10.2% of overall sales in the region, compared with 9.2% last year.
CEO Victor Herrero told analysts on Guess’s fiscal Q3 2017 earnings call that the company is launching a “digital first” initiative in North America, which includes an increased focus on social media and email marketing campaigns.
“The digital experience includes the following measures: creating interaction between retail, wholesale and e-commerce; improving CRM [customer relationship management]; focus on unified loyalty programs; emphasizing use of email and social media; creating more innovative user experience; enhancing mobile technology to drive customers to the store through our e-commerce platform or online to offline capabilities,” he told analysts on the call, according to a transcript from Seeking Alpha. Herrero didn’t specify how much the company will spend on its digital push.
For the third quarter ended Oct. 29, Guess reported:
- Net revenue of $536.3 million, up 2.9% from $521.0 million last year.
- Total sales in the Americas region of $215.9 million, down 4.7% from $226.6 million.
- A year-over-year comparable-store sales decline, including e-commerce, of 4.9%.
- Net earnings of $9.7 million, down 26.0% from $13.1 million.
For the first nine months of the year, Guess reported:
- Net revenue of $1.530 billion, down 1.0% from $1.546 billion last year.
- Total sales in the Americas of $646.6 million, down 4.0% from $673.3 million.
- A year-over-year comparable-store sales decline, including e-commerce, of 3.9%
- Net earnings of $16.7 million, down 53.0% from $35.5 million.