German fashion house Gerry Weber has hailed the first quarter performance of its Hallhuber brand, but the double-digit sales increase was not enough to offset the poor performance of its core lines.
Overall group revenues in the three-month period slipped 9.3% to EUR189.8m (US$234m) from EUR209.2m last year.
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The group’s Hallhuber brand, meanwhile, recorded a 17.8% jump in revenues to EUR58.9m, driven by the addition of new points of sale and a 5.5% rise in like-for-like revenues.
Sales revenues at the company’s core brands – Gerry Weber, Taifun, Samoon and Talkabout – however, slipped 17.8% to EUR130.8m from EUR159.2m. The group blamed a shift in merchandise deliveries to its wholesale partners, store closures under the company’s Fit4Growth programme, and an 8.8% drop in like-for-like revenues.
Revenues generated by core brands at the company’s own points of sale fell 19.1% to EUR80.6m in the quarter, while online sales increased 8.8% to EUR7.4m.
The group’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) halved, from EUR15.6m to EUR7.8m.
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By GlobalDataCEO Ralf Weber said the first quarter “clearly shows that our decision to develop a performance programme was right. We will announce the detailed measures of the programme in mid-June 2018.”
Last month, as part of its continued efforts to return to profitability, the company appointed a new management board, tasked with developing a performance programme to drive a “sustainable increase” in profitability.
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Looking ahead, the firm said it stands by its forecast for the year ahead issued at the end of February, which projects stable consolidated sales revenues of between EUR870m and EUR890m for fiscal 2017/18.
It also warned that charges arising from measures including the Fit4Growth programme mean earnings before interest and taxes are likely to be between EUR10m and EUR20m for the current year.
