Aritzia sales continue to slip in Q2

By

Robin Driver

Published
Oct 15, 2020

As Covid-19 continues to take its toll on retailers, Canadian womenswear company Aritzia Inc. announced a decline of 17.0% in its second-quarter sales on Wednesday, with strong e-commerce gains limiting the damage inflicted by the pandemic.

 
For the second quarter ended August 30, 2020, the Vancouver-based retailer reported total net revenue of $200.2 million, compared to $241.2 million in the prior-year period.
 
The decline reflected the occupancy restrictions, reduced operating hours and partial store closures implemented in reaction to the coronavirus crisis. The effect of these factors was partially offset by an 82.3% year-over-year increase in Aritzia’s e-commerce sales.

Quarterly net loss at the company came to $0.9 million, compared to net income of $17.9 million in the same period in the previous year.
 
Nonetheless, Aritzia founder, CEO and chairman Brian Hill was keen to highlight the progress being made by the retailer in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
“We are pleased with the ongoing recovery of our business in the second quarter,” he said in a release. “In-boutique demand exceeded our expectations as clients returned with enthusiasm to our reopened boutiques, while the strength of our e-commerce business continued.”
 
Taking into account the whole first half of the fiscal year, Artizia posted revenues of $311.5 million in the six-month period, down 28.9% from $437.9 million in the prior year. Net loss for the period was $27.3 million, compared to net income of $34.1 million in the same period in the previous year.
 
Looking to the future, Artizia has not provided financial guidance for the third quarter or the full fiscal year. The company did, however, point out that it has been seeing a positive client response to its latest Fall/Winter product offering, a trend that has made the retailer “cautiously optimistic” for the holiday season.
 
The company’s caution is largely related to the recent surges of Covid-19 cases in a number of its key markets and the renewed government restrictions that have accompanied this wave of infections.
 
Aritzia boasts 95 retail locations across North America, in cities including Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago. Having been temporarily closed due to the health crisis, 93 of these stores have now reopened.