West Marine reports sales decreases
WATSONVILLE, Calif. – West Marine, Inc. reported its sales were down for the first half of 2008 and the second quarter, the company said in a statement this morning. West Marine’s net sales for the first six months of 2008 were $339.9 million, an 8.8 percent decrease for the same period a year ago. The company attributed the decline to a $25.8 million decrease in comparable store sales and a $7.0 million decrease from stores that were closed in 2007.
Comparable store sales for the first half, ended June 28, 2008, do not include net sales of $9.2 million from new stores and $3.7 million from remodeled or expanded stores. Comparable store sales for the period decreased 8.4 percent.
West Marine’s net sales for the 2008 second quarter, ended June 28, 2008, totaled $226.7 million, a $20.4 million (8.3 percent) decrease from the same period a year ago. The decline was primarily due to a $16.4 million decrease in comparable store sales during the quarter, the company said. Comparable store sales for the second quarter decreased 7.8 percent.
Net sales attributable to West Marine’s Stores segment were $198.6 million for the second quarter, a decrease of $20.1 million, or 9.2 percent, compared to the same period last year. The sales decrease primarily was due to a $16.4 million decrease in comparable store sales and $4.1 million of prior-year sales at closed stores.
The company’s Port Supply (wholesale) segment sales through distribution centers for the second quarter of 2008 were $12.8 million, a decrease of $0.6 million, or 4.1 percent, compared to the same period last year. Port Supply sales to wholesale customers through West Marine’s retail store locations are included in the Stores segment. Net sales in the Direct Sales segment for the second quarter of 2008 were $14.3 million, a $0.8 million decrease (5.1 percent), compared to same period last year.
“Sales results during the second quarter were below our expectations,” said Geoff Eisenberg, West Marine CEO. “Now that we are in the peak boating season, we continue to see softness throughout our U.S. markets. While our international business has continued to be strong, it’s a relatively small part of our overall sales mix. Fuel prices and the weak economy have absolutely affected boat usage, which in turn negatively impacts traffic to our stores and web site. We will discuss our plans for successfully navigating through this challenging environment in our second quarter earnings conference call and webcast scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time on July 24, 2008.”
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