Abercrombie & Fitch racked up $936 million in net sales during fourth-quarter 2009, a drop from the $980.8 million it generated during the last quarter of 2008. The apparel marketer’s net income fell to $47.5 million for fourth-quarter 2009, down from $68.4 million for the same period a year earlier.
Total direct to consumer sales for the quarter stood at $93.1 million, flat with fourth-quarter 2008 income.
For the full year, Abercrombie & Fitch saw its sales fall to $2.93 billion from $3.48 billion in 2008. Its net income took a pummeling, coming in at $254,000 compared with $272.3 million a year earlier.
Direct to customer sales slipped 6%, to $249.4 million, while comparable store sales fell 23% for the year.
Income – or the lack of it – for 2009 reflects store and distribution expenses which jumped from 41% of sales to nearly 49%, while marketing and administrative expenses ticked up from 11.6% of total sales to 12.1%.
"Having managed through a very difficult retail environment in 2009 with a long-term mindset of protecting our brands, we look forward to 2010 as we intend to grow the business internationally and improve the profitability of the domestic business," said CEO and chairman Mike Jeffries, in a statement.
"The Eavesdropper’s Take: Social media and mobile marketing dovetails nicely with A&F’s core demographic, and in an earnings call CEO Mike Jeffries noted this. “We are actively seeking new ways to effectively engage our customers through these mediums. Having recently launched on Facebook, Abercrombie & Fitch already has 775,000 fans, and [co-brand] Hollister has over 340,000. We recently released an iPhone application and continue to invest in our mobile commerce platform. For the future, we are investing in some new initiatives that we believe will provide a significant boost for our direct to consumer business and beyond.” No word from Jeffries on what A&F will write on its fans’ Facebook walls, nor whether it will play Farmville with them.
