Zumiez sales growth slows to 6% in June

By

Robin Driver

Published
Jul 13, 2018

Youth-focused streetwear and action sports apparel retailer Zumiez Inc. reported its June 2018 sales results on Wednesday, announcing respectable increases in both net and comparable sales which, nonetheless, suggest a certain deceleration compared to recent months.

For the five-week period ended July 7, 2018, Zumiez’s net sales rose 6% to $76.5 million, compared to $72.2 million in the prior-year period.
 
The Lynnwood, Washington-based company which operates under the names Zumiez, Blue Tomato and Fast Times, also reported that comparable sales increased 2.7%, compared to a 5.3% rise in the same period in the previous year.

These increases suggest that Zumiez is still successfully pushing its sales growth – one of the priorities for fiscal 2018 outlined by CEO Rick Brooks when the company announced strong results for 2017 in March of this year.  
 
However, when compared to the relatively rapid sales increases seen by the retailer in recent months, June’s results reflect a noticeable drop in momentum. In the first quarter ended May 5, 2018, for example, net sales grew 13.9%, while comparable sales rose 8.3%.
 
Commenting on these sales increases in a statement released with the company’s Q1 results announcement, Brooks explained, “The strong top-line momentum we achieved in 2017 accelerated during the first quarter fueled by the strength of our assortments and the seamless shopping experience we’ve created for consumers who interact with our brand.”
 
More recently, the company saw sales rise 12.2% in May, just over double the increase reported in June, with comparable sales growing 7.5%.
 
Zumiez currently expects to see net sales in the range of $213 million to $217 million in the second quarter of 2018, with comparable sales anticipated to grow between 3% and 5% – targets that the company still looks to be on track to hit with the announcement of last month’s results.