Steve Madden announces Q4 and full year 2014 financial results

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Feb 24, 2015

Steve Madden on Tuesday announced its fourth quarter and full year 2014 financial results. The company has recorded a loss in net income for both the fourth quarter and the full year but for the year overall its sales increased.
 
Net sales for the wholesale business were $270.9 million in the fourth quarter compared to $273.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2013. Excluding the results of Dolce Vita, wholesale net sales decreased 6.3% compared to the prior year period. Gross margin in the wholesale business decreased to 27.0% compared to 31.8% in last year’s fourth quarter, due primarily to increased markdown allowances, the impact from Dolce Vita and higher air freight costs incurred due to the West Coast port slowdown.

For the fourth quarter, net sales dropped slightly from $342.9 million to $342.6 with wholesale sales decreasing from $273.4 million $270.9 million compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, net income dropped sharply from $35.7 million in to $21 million for the same period.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Edward Rosenfeld commented, "Fourth quarter 2014 was a tough quarter capping a difficult year for the Company. Throughout 2014, we were impacted by a lack of significant fashion footwear trends on which to capitalize. In the fourth quarter, we faced additional challenges including production delays on goods from Mexico and slowdowns at the West Coast ports."

Despite this, retail sales in Q4 increased from $69.5 million to $71.7 million due in part to the opening of 14 stores during the year, including two full price stores, four outlet stores, and 21 retail stores after the acquisition of their Mexican licensee, and retail and net sales increased for the full year by 1.6% from $1.31 billion to $1.33 billion.
 
"While 2014 was a difficult year, we are excited about the steps we took during 2014 and early in 2015 to position the company for future growth," Rosenfeld said.

"In 2014, we implemented a new e-commerce platform, acquired two powerful footwear brands in Dolce Vita and Brian Atwood, and moved to an ownership model in two important international markets with the acquisition of our Mexican licensee and the formation of a joint venture in South Africa. In January 2015, we announced our acquisition of Blondo, which adds an authentic waterproof boot brand to our portfolio. We believe that these initiatives will significantly enhance the Company’s long-term growth prospects," he ended.
 
The company predicts an increase in sales to 9% for the 2015 financial year.