Price hike affects Destination Maternity Q1 sales

The primary reason for fall in comparable store sales was a decline in overall transactions and unit sales, resulting from lesser traffic, as a result of the increase in average selling prices.

The decline in comparable store sales affected the company's net sales for the quarter, which stood at $124.4 million as compared to $141.6 million in the previous quarter, ended May 2, 2015.

The fall in net sales, however, did not affect Destination Maternity's net income, which stood at $4 million on a GAAP basis during the quarter as compared to $2.5 million in the prior quarter, representing a rise of 59.4 per cent.

“For the first quarter, in a challenging environment that pressured sales, we are pleased to report a 10.2 per cent increase in adjusted EBITDA before other charges,” Anthony Romano, CEO, president and interim CFO commented on the results.

“In April, we implemented a new product allocation tool, which is expected to enable us to better flow product across our channels to drive sales and continue our improved margins and inventory levels in future quarters,” he added.

The company expects comparable store sales to be flat for the full fiscal year with improvement in second half of the fiscal 2016. (MCJ)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk - India