Bjorn Borg report indicates 2 percent rise in Q3 sales
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The Swedish wholesale companies for underwear and footwear experienced another unfavorable quarter with slightly lower shipments of the Fall/Winter collection. The British and Finnish wholesaling operations continued to perform positively. The group-owned retail operations reported another decline during the third quarter, while e-commerce continued to develop strongly.
“The highlights of the third quarter were our participation in Fashion Week Stockholm, solid profitability growth and good growth in our e-commerce”, said Henrik Bunge, CEO of Björn Borg, commenting on the third quarter financial development.
The group’s net sales amounted to 403.5 million Swedish Krona (54.7 million dollars) during the first nine months of the year, an increase of 2 percent. For the first nine months as a whole, revenue in the two product companies rose compared with the same period in 2013, but mainly because of the shipment delays. The British and Finnish wholesaling operations continued to perform positively during the first nine months of the year. Sales for the Swedish wholesale companies for underwear and footwear decreased during the period, with tough market conditions leading to declining collections primarily in fall 2014.
Group-owned retail sales saw a decline, while e-commerce continued to perform strongly. Royalties decreased as a result of lower brand sales during the period.
For the third quarter, from July to September 2014, the gross profit margin improved slightly to 52.4 percent. Excluding currency effects, the margin would have still been 52.4 percent. For the nine-month period from January to September 2014, the gross profit margin increased to 52.6 percent.
The Group consists of a total of 13 companies, nine of which operate under the Björn Borg brand on every level from product development to wholesaling and consumer sales in its own Björn Borg stores. As of January 1, 2014 revenue and expenses attributable to the group-owned stores in Finland and England are also reported in this segment. Operating revenue in the retail segment increased by 14 percent during the first nine months of 2014 and external net sales rose by 14 percent. Sales for outlets and comparable Björn Borg stores in Sweden were down 9 percent year-on-year.