The Lexington, MA-based chain, which operates 318 stores, said it also plans to be a major presence in department stores this year, including Nordstrom, Lord and Taylor, and Bloomingdales, as it attempts to improve sales at stores outside its own chain.
"We are back in premier department stores in ways that we've never been before," says David Chamberlain, Stride-Rite's chairman and CEO. "We're trying to move the brand up."
The firm says sales of children's footwear to department stores and licensed partners dropped 7% for the year, a trend Chamberlain says is expected to continue through the remainder of 2007. Total sales for the company's children's group were up 10% for the quarter and 7% for the year.
The company says total earnings for the quarter increased to $1.5 million, or 4 cents a share, topping analysts' average estimates by 4 cents per share. In the same quarter of 2005, the company lost $3.1 million, or 8 cents a share.
Higher sales of its Sperry Top-Sider and Saucony brands, including $9.7 million in sales associated with the $27.5 million Robeeze acquisition, helped quarterly revenue grow 15% to $151.8 million, more than $20 million more than the prior year when quarterly revenue was $131.7 million, the company said. Full year sales were up 20% to $706.8 million and income jumped 40% to $34.3 million. Stride Rite says it expects sales growth of 5% to 8% in 2007 and forecast yearly earning of $1.10 to $1.15 a share, excluding costs related to the Robeez acquisition.
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