Canada Goose Holdings Inc. continued to see wholesale declines in its fiscal third quarter — like most of the rest of fashion — but compensated for the weakness with an extra kick from the Asia-Pacific region.
The company — which is known for its ultra-warm parkas but has been branching out into new categories — saw sales in the Asia-Pacific region jump 62 percent to 207.7 million Canadian dollars in the quarter.
Sales in the U.S. fell by 13.8 percent to 157.5 million Canadian dollars, while Canada was off 13.1 percent to 94.9 million Canadian dollars.
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Part of that disconnect comes from sales to wholesalers in North America, where department stores have been struggling and Canada Goose has been choosier.
Canada Goose’s total wholesale sales fell by 28.5 percent in the quarter to 81.8 million Canadian dollars, while direct-to-consumer sales through the brand’s website and its own stores rose 14.2 percent to 514 million Canadian dollars.
“The weakness in wholesale is thematic in the industry. Holiday was a very highly promotional environment” with sales being driven by price promotions, Dani Reiss, chairman and chief executive officer, told WWD.
Reiss expressed confidence that the channel would eventually find its balance.
In the meantime, he said Canada Goose would “rationalize a little bit,” picking and choosing which stores to work with while deciding “who the strongest players are.”
But he predicted that while Canada Goose continues with its own DTC push, the brand would connect with “like-minded” retailers and “grow with them again.”
That might have to wait a little longer, though, as shoppers have grown more cautious in their fashion purchases even though the economy is doing much better than many feared at this time last year.
“It’s a lukewarm environment from a consumer perspective,” Reiss said. “Right now, it’s mixed.”
Overall, Canada Goose said net income for the third quarter slipped to 131.4 million Canadian dollars from 137.5 million Canadian dollars.
But adjusted earnings per share increased to $1.37 from $1.27 a year earlier, helping push the stock up 8.5 percent to $13.01 in Thursday trading on Wall Street.
Revenues for the quarter ended Dec. 31 rose 5.8 percent to 609.9 Canadian dollars from 576.7 million Canadian dollars.
For the full year, Canada Goose expects earnings of 82 cents to 92 cents a diluted share, in line with the 60 cent to $1.40 range given in November — but below the $1.20 to $1.48 the company originally forecast.