Vince sees increased sales, comps in 2018 to end "pivotal year"

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
Apr 11, 2019

Vince Holdings posted improved results on Wednesday, as the U.S. luxury apparel and accessories group saw net sales lift on strong comparable sales in both the fourth-quarter and full-year 2018.

For the three months ending February 2, Vince saw net sales increase 4.2% to $77.8 million, as compared to $74.6 million in the same period last year. Direct-to-consumer comparable sales were up 3.1% during the quarter, and gross margin rate increased 160 bps to 47.1% of sales.

Vince's earnings took a hit, however, with net income coming in at $0.7 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, compared to $74.5 million, or $6.41 per diluted share.

In a press release on Wednesday, the company said it managed to deliver on its yearly guidance, adding 2018 was a "pivotal year."

"We streamlined our wholesale business to focus on key partners where we achieved strong retail door sell through, we successfully opened 6 new stores and drove double digit e-commerce growth, we launched a subscription rental program and received accolades on our women’s collections throughout the year," said Brenda Hoffman, CEO of Vince Holdings.

For the full-year 2018, Vince saw sales lift 2.3% to $279 million from $272.6 million. Vince's wholesale segment decreased 3.9% to $159.6 million and direct-to-consumer segment sales increased 12.1% to $119.3 million.

Comparable store sales increased 10.7%, including e-commerce sales. Like Vince's fourth quarter, the company witnessed a full-year net loss, with profit down to $2 million, or $0.17 per share, compared to net income of $58.6 million, or $7.70 per diluted share in 2017.

Looking ahead, Vince expects 2019 sales to fall between $290 million and $300M. Operating income is seen landing in a range of $7 million to $9 million.