Brand owners report growth in sales

A number of international footwear producers have recently logged positive sales figures for varying periods during 2019.

US-based Deckers Brands has reported sales revenue of just under $820 million (£633 million) for the first six months of the company’s current fiscal year to September 30th 2019. This is an increase of 8.8 per cent over the same period in 2018, although growth in the second quarter was slightly lower at 8 per cent, which delivered revenue of $542.2 million (£418.6 million).

During that second quarter, specialist sheepskin boot brand UGG brought in $404.9 million (£312.5 million), which represented a 2.2 per cent improvement. The UGG brand therefore contributed nearly three-quarters of the group’s sales figure.

Revenue from Deckers’ Hoka brand grew to $78.1 million £60.3 million), Teva reported a 6.7 per cent boost in sales to $23 million (£17.8 million) and returns from Sanuk-branded footwear increased by 22.4 per cent to $13.8 million (£10.7 million).

German sportswear giant PUMA has posted what has been described as its ‘best’ quarter. Sales for the international group increased by 17 per cent in the third quarter of 2019, to $1.65 billion (£1.27 billion). The Asia-Pacific and Americas regions are said to have produced double-digit increases, while the EMEA region delivered a high single-digit growth. PUMA’s gross profit margin increased by 0.1 per cent for the third quarter of 2019 to 49.7 when compared to the same quarter in the previous year.

Footwear, apparel and accessories are all reported to have shown strong growth during the third quarter, improving by 16.9 per cent, 18.7 per cent and 13.4 per cent respectively. The highest growth rates were recorded for the ‘sportstyle’, motorsport, golf, running and training categories.

“The third quarter developed very positively for us and ended as the best quarter that PUMA has ever achieved, both in terms of revenue and EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes)”, said company chief executive Bjorn Gulden. “Especially positive for me was the 17 per cent growth in footwear, which shows the strong performance of the new styles, and EMEA’s growth of almost 10 per cent, proving a recovery in Europe”, he added.

Footwear producer Skechers has posted revenue of $3.9 billion (£3.01 billion) for the first nine months of 2019, which is an increase of 9.2 per cent compared to the same period in 2018. Revenue for the three months to September 30th 2019 was over $1.35 billion (£1.04 billion), which is a record for the US-based brand owner for the third quarter.

VF Corporation, which owns Dickies, The North Face, Timberland, Vans and a number of other brands, has reported a 5 per cent increase in second quarter revenue to $3.4 billion (£2.6 billion). Sales of The North Face-branded items increased by 8 per cent and Vans reported a 14 per cent growth in sales.

“We're pleased with the strength of our second quarter and first half results, driven by our two largest brands and our international and direct-to-consumer platforms," said VF Corporation chief executive Steve Rendle. “Despite an increasingly uncertain geopolitical and macroeconomic environment, we are confident in the trajectory of our business as we move into the second half of our fiscal year, as reaffirmed by our outlook."

The photograph above shows footwear from the UGG range – the brand which contributed almost 75 per cent of Decker’s sales revenue.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 6 of the December 2019 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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