Yankee Candle Corp. and The Yankee Candle Company, Inc. reported financial results for the first quarter of 2008, which ended on March 29, including total revenue of $140.9 million, a 1.5% decrease from the previous year’s quarter.
According to the company, the decrease arose from fewer sales to existing domestic wholesale customers and a restructuring plan designed to close three underperforming stores, offset in part by revenue generated in new stores, increased revenue from European operations and increased revenue in the company’s consumer direct business. Retail sales totaled $72.8 million, an increase of $3.5 million above the 2007 fiscal first quarter. Comparable store sales in the 403 Yankee Candle retail segment, excluding the consumer direct business and Illuminations stores, decreased 2% over the previous year’s quarter. Wholesale sales, which totaled $68.1 million, decreased by 7.6% from the prior year’s quarter.
“The weakening macro-economic environment that we experienced in Q4 2007 continued to negatively impact our business in the first quarter of 2008,” said Craig Rydin, chairman and CEO. “Both retail and wholesale performed below our internal projections, and similar to other retailers and consumer facing companies, we were adversely impacted by overall mall traffic, a tightening of open to buy inventory dollars within our wholesale channel, commodity inflationary pressures and reduced consumer spending.”
Due to current economic challenges, Rydin concluded,“In this environment, we will remain focused on our brand, the competitive advantage of our multichannel business model and our vertically integrated supply chain. Additionally, we have proactively intensified our focus on cost containment and controllable expenses as we navigate in this difficult sales environment. We have undertaken several initiatives focused on reducing companywide costs. We believe that these initiatives we have undertaken will help position the company to effectively compete for our share of the consumer’s wallet during the balance of 2008.”
For the full report and details on the company, click here.
According to the company, the decrease arose from fewer sales to existing domestic wholesale customers and a restructuring plan designed to close three underperforming stores, offset in part by revenue generated in new stores, increased revenue from European operations and increased revenue in the company’s consumer direct business. Retail sales totaled $72.8 million, an increase of $3.5 million above the 2007 fiscal first quarter. Comparable store sales in the 403 Yankee Candle retail segment, excluding the consumer direct business and Illuminations stores, decreased 2% over the previous year’s quarter. Wholesale sales, which totaled $68.1 million, decreased by 7.6% from the prior year’s quarter.
“The weakening macro-economic environment that we experienced in Q4 2007 continued to negatively impact our business in the first quarter of 2008,” said Craig Rydin, chairman and CEO. “Both retail and wholesale performed below our internal projections, and similar to other retailers and consumer facing companies, we were adversely impacted by overall mall traffic, a tightening of open to buy inventory dollars within our wholesale channel, commodity inflationary pressures and reduced consumer spending.”
Due to current economic challenges, Rydin concluded,“In this environment, we will remain focused on our brand, the competitive advantage of our multichannel business model and our vertically integrated supply chain. Additionally, we have proactively intensified our focus on cost containment and controllable expenses as we navigate in this difficult sales environment. We have undertaken several initiatives focused on reducing companywide costs. We believe that these initiatives we have undertaken will help position the company to effectively compete for our share of the consumer’s wallet during the balance of 2008.”
For the full report and details on the company, click here.
