‘Another poor quarter’ persuades Wilsons to innovate on inventory
23/08/2007
The chief executive of leather apparel and accessories retailer Wilsons, Michael Searles, has acknowledged that the company’s latest financial results represent “another poor quarter”.
Net sales decreased 11.3% to $43.6 million compared to $49.2 million for the same period last year. Comparable store sales for the second quarter decreased by 11.9%.
Focusing on the positive, Mr Searles, pointed out that, a year ago, like-for-like store sales showed an even greater decrease, 16.2%.
To address this, Wilsons is in the process of revamping its inventory. New designer-brand outerwear is replacing more traditional garments, many of which fall into a category that Mr Searles describes as “non-go-forward inventory”.
“Our goal is to increase our inventory turnover and to keep our stores always looking fresh,” he added
“Dollars per transaction in our mall stores are up 17.7% year-on-year. We just have not had enough new customers to offset the ones who have left us. Our branded product offering is designed to help recapture some of those customers who have left us. Our new product launch begins this week.”
