Weyco reports record results
At last, a footwear company outside of the top-end luxury range has succeeded in posting positive results.
American designer, wholesaler and retailer of moderately-priced and better-grade men's branded footwear Weyco Group, Inc., has even gone so far as reporting record results for 2007, despite the economic slowdown. The company, whose principal brands include Florsheim, Nunn Bush, and Stacy Adams, posted net sales of $232.6 million for the year, up 5% from the $221 million reported in 2006.
Although net sales in its wholesale division, which include licensing revenues, were $201.5 million compared with $191.3 million in 2006, it was not good news across the board as while sales of the company's Florsheim and Stacy Adams brands grew 14% and 5%, respectively, Nunn Bush sales slipped 2%. Retail sales increased 5% in 2007 to $31.1 million, up from $29.8 million in 2006, while same store sales improved 2%.
"We are very pleased that 2007 was a record year for Weyco Group in terms of both sales and profits," stated Tom Florsheim, Jr. chairman and chief executive. "With that said, we started to see a slow down of retail footwear sales at our customers and in our own stores during the second half of the year, particularly in the fourth quarter. We feel that the slow down that we are seeing is caused by general economic factors, and that our brands are well positioned to grow over the long term."
