Child of Mine brand sales drop in Q2

23 Jul '08

6 min read

Carter's Inc, the largest branded marketer in the United States of apparel exclusively for babies and young children, reported its second quarter fiscal 2008 results.

"Our second quarter sales were better than expected due to the strength of our Carter's retail segment," noted Michael D. Casey, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, who will become the Company's Chief Executive Officer on August 1, 2008.

"Our results reflect the benefit of investments made in our new retail leadership team over the past year, the strengthening of our product offerings, and better inventory management," continued Mr. Casey. "In this difficult economic period, our stores continue to offer significant value to the consumer."

Second Quarter of Fiscal 2008 compared to Second Quarter of Fiscal 2007

Consolidated net sales increased 4.8% to $301.7 million. Net sales of the Company's Carter's brands increased 4.1% to $238.0 million. Net sales of the Company's OshKosh brand increased 7.7% to $63.6 million.

Consolidated retail store sales increased 13.9% to $142.5 million. Carter's retail store sales increased 21.5% to $92.7 million, driven by a comparable store sales increase of 17.3%, or $13.2 million, and sales of $3.5 million from new Carter's stores opened since the second quarter of fiscal 2007. OshKosh retail store sales increased 2.0% to $49.9 million, driven by sales of $1.8 million from new OshKosh stores opened since the second quarter of fiscal 2007. Comparable OshKosh retail store sales declined 0.9%, or $0.4 million.

In the second quarter of fiscal 2008, the Company opened two Carter's retail stores. As of June 28, 2008, the Company had 231 Carter's and 163 OshKosh stores. The Company plans to open a total of 25 Carter's and two OshKosh stores during fiscal 2008. The Company also plans to close five Carter's and three OshKosh stores during fiscal 2008.

The Company's wholesale sales increased 4.4% to $108.1 million. Carter's wholesale sales increased $1.0 million, or 1.1%, to $94.3 million. OshKosh wholesale sales increased $3.5 million, or 34.5%, to $13.8 million, due primarily to an increase in off-price shipments in the second quarter of fiscal 2008.

The Company's mass channel sales, which are comprised of sales of our Just One Year brand to Target and Child of Mine brand to Wal-Mart, decreased 13.6% to $51.1 million. Sales of our Just One Year brand increased $0.5 million, or 2.3%, to $21.2 million. Child of Mine brand sales decreased $8.5 million, or 22.2%, to $29.9 million, due primarily to product performance.

In connection with the retirement of Frederick J. Rowan, II, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, the Company recorded charges during the second quarter of $5.3 million, $3.1 million of which relates to severance and benefit obligations and $2.2 million relates to the vesting of Mr. Rowan's performance-based stock options.

Consolidated operating income in the second quarter of fiscal 2008 was $9.3 million as compared to a consolidated operating loss of $137.9 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2007. Excluding executive retirement charges in the second quarter of fiscal 2008 and impairment and closure costs in the second quarter of fiscal 2007, the Company's adjusted operating income decreased $3.5 million, or 19.5%. This decrease was due to Child of Mine product performance, higher inventory and bad debt provisions, and provisions for incentive compensation.

Net income was $2.8 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $143.4 million, or $2.48 per diluted share, in the second quarter of fiscal 2007. Excluding executive retirement charges in the second quarter of fiscal 2008 and impairment and closure costs in the second quarter of fiscal 2007, the Company's adjusted net income decreased $1.6 million, or 20.9%, and adjusted diluted earnings per share decreased 23.1%.

"While our second quarter sales were better than expected, we will continue to take a cautious outlook for the year given the uncertainty of the current economic environment. Our business continues to produce very healthy levels of cash flow, which enables us to invest in our business," noted Mr. Casey.

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