The J. Jill Group Inc. reported that net sales for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 27, 2003 increased by 6.5% to $114.9 million from $107.9 million reported in the prior year.
Operating income for the quarter totaled $5.6 million, or 4.9% of net sales, compared to $10.8 million, or 10.0% of net sales, in the prior year. The company posted net income of $3.2 million for the fourth quarter this year versus net income of $6.2 million in the fourth quarter of the previous year.
For the fiscal year ended Dec. 27, the company recorded net sales of $376.9 million, an increase of 8.4% over fiscal 2002 net sales of $347.6 million.
Operating income for the year was $12.9 million, or 3.4% of net sales, compared to $32.8 million, or 9.4% of net sales, in the prior year. Net income for the 12 months was $7.2 million versus $18.9 million in the previous year.
Catalog sales for the fourth quarter of 2003 were $33.6 million, compared to $42.5 million for the last quarter of 2002. For the fiscal year, catalog sales were $131.2 million, versus $154.5 million posted in 2002.
Fourth quarter e-commerce sales for the Quincy, MA-based retailer and cataloger were $19.2 million, compared to $20.5 million during the same 2002 period. Total e-commerce net sales for 2003 were $69.0 million, as opposed to $66.1 million in 2002.
“Our year ended on a positive note primarily due to strong Holiday results which enabled us to exceed our previously issued targets for the fourth quarter. Nevertheless, fiscal 2003 was a difficult year and marked the beginning of an important transition for The J. Jill Group,” said Gordon R. Cooke, president and CEO, in a statement.
He added that the company worked last year to refine its strategic objectives in the supply chain area and implemented the start of a new front-end product development and merchandising infrastructure.
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