US retailer Genesco's net sales at $2.32 bn in FY24

The sales downturn was notable across several divisions, with Journeys and Genesco brands witnessing declines of 8 per cent and 9 per cent respectively. Conversely, Schuh and Johnston and Murphy registered increases of 11 per cent and 8 per cent, with Schuh achieving an 8 per cent rise on a constant currency basis, the company said in a press release.

Gross margin slightly fell to 47.3 per cent from 47.6 per cent, while selling and administrative expenses surged, marking an increase in adjusted selling and administrative expenses to 46.5 per cent of sales from 43.6 per cent the previous year. Consequently, the company's GAAP operating loss for the fiscal stood at $13.5 million, contrasting with the operating income of $93.2 million reported last year. Adjusted operating income for the period was $16.8 million, down from $96.8 million in fiscal 2023.

The fiscal concluded with a GAAP loss from continuing operations of $23.6 million, a stark contrast to the $72.2 million earnings from continuing operations seen in the prior year. Adjusted earnings from continuing operations amounted to $6.4 million, or $0.56 per share, compared to $71.1 million, or $5.59 per share, in fiscal 2023.

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 (Q4 FY24), Genesco saw a 2 per cent increase in net sales to $739 million, with e-commerce sales accounting for 27 per cent of retail sales, up from 25 per cent last year. However, comparable sales declined by 4 per cent, with a 7 per cent decrease in stores and a 5 per cent increase in direct sales. The quarter reported a GAAP EPS from continuing operations of $1.84, down from $3.23 last year, and a non-GAAP EPS from continuing operations of $2.59, compared to $3.06 in the corresponding period last year.

“Our fiscal 2024 results reflect the significant shift we’ve seen in our Journeys consumer’s shopping behaviour. The year began with a very challenging start, and we reacted quickly to implement strategies that drove sequential improvement in Journeys comp every quarter of the year. Although the holiday season started off positively, consumers subsequently shopped almost exclusively for key footwear items with a notable shift away from boots, putting more pressure on our core product assortment than we anticipated at the beginning of Q4,” said Mimi E Vaughn, Genesco’s board chair, president, and chief executive officer.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)