Gross margin increased approximately 360 basis points compared to the third quarter last year

All profitability measures improved when compared to third quarter last year

Reduced inventory for the seventh consecutive quarter

DODGEVILLE, Wis., Dec. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lands' End, Inc. (NASDAQ: LE) today announced financial results for the third quarter ended November 1, 2024.

Andrew McLean, Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Throughout the third quarter, we sustained momentum from our deliberate efforts to drive higher quality sales, resulting in growth in both gross margin and gross profit dollars. Our sharp focus on innovation and creating solutions for life's every journey is supporting the continued evolution of our strategy and brand. In addition to serving our loyal existing customers, our new customer acquisition increased 20% year-over-year, and is up mid-teens year-to-date. As we look to the holiday season, the Black Friday through Cyber Monday weekend met our expectations and was characterized by strong customer engagement with balanced performance across our channels.”

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Third Quarter Financial Highlights

  • In the third quarter of 2024, Gross Merchandise Value ("GMV”) increased low-double digits compared to the third quarter of 2023. GMV is total order value of all Lands' End branded merchandise sold to customers through business-to-consumer and business-to-business channels, as well as the retail value of the merchandise sold through third party distribution channels.

  • For the third quarter, Net revenue decreased to $318.6 million compared to $324.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2023. Excluding the impact of transitioning kids and footwear products to licensing arrangements, Net revenue increased by low-single digits year-over-year.
    • Global eCommerce Net revenue was $211.1 million, a decrease of $5.3 million from $216.4 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2023.
      • U.S. eCommerce Net revenue was $186.1 million, a decrease of 2.2% from $190.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2023. The decrease in U.S. eCommerce was primarily driven by the transition of kids and footwear products from a direct to a license model, lower promotional activity and improved inventory management resulting in increased gross profit from higher gross margins. Excluding the impact of transitioning kids and footwear products to licensing arrangements, U.S. eCommerce Net revenue increased by low-double digits year-over-year.
      • Compared to third quarter of fiscal 2023, International eCommerce Net revenue decreased 4.6%, primarily driven by lower promotional activity and a decrease in markdown and clearance sales in third quarter of fiscal 2024. 
    • Outfitters Net revenue was $73.4 million, a decrease of $0.9 million or 1.2% from $74.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2023. The business uniform channel increased year-over-year primarily due to the strength in national accounts. The school uniform channel decreased primarily due to the timing of customer orders earlier in the back-to-school season as compared to the prior year.
    • Third Party Net revenue was $25.5 million, an increase of $1.5 million or 6.3% from $24.0 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2023. The increase was primarily due to revenue generated from licensing arrangements.

  • Gross profit was $161.1 million, an increase of $8.5 million or 5.6% from $152.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2023. Gross margin increased approximately 360 basis points to 50.6%, compared to 47.0% in third quarter of fiscal 2023. The gross margin improvement was primarily driven by lower promotional activity, leveraging the strength in product solutions and newness across the channels and improved supply chain costs.

  • Selling and administrative expenses increased $5.6 million to $140.9 million or 44.2% of Net revenue, compared to $135.3 million or 41.7% of Net revenue in third quarter of fiscal 2023. The approximately 250 basis points increase was driven by higher digital marketing spend focused on new customer acquisition. 

  • Net loss was $0.6 million, or $0.02 loss per diluted share compared to Net loss of $112.4 million or $3.52 loss per diluted share in the third quarter of fiscal 2023. Third quarter of fiscal 2023 Net loss includes a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $106.7 million due to the then decline in the Company's stock price and market capitalization.

  • Adjusted net income was $1.8 million, or $0.06 income per diluted share, compared to an Adjusted net loss of $3.6 million or $0.11 loss per diluted share in the third quarter of fiscal 2023.

  • Adjusted EBITDA was $20.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2024 compared to $17.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2023.
Third Quarter Business Highlights:

  • Delivered a 5.6% gross profit and an approximately 360 basis point gross margin improvement, driven by lower promotional activity, strength in product solutions, newness across the channels and improved supply chain costs.

  • Achieved the seventh consecutive quarter improvement in inventory with a year-over-year 20% reduction through improved flow and productivity.

  • Global new customer acquisition increased by over 20% in the third quarter and mid-teens year-to-date.
Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Highlights

Cash and cash equivalents were $30.4 million as of November 1, 2024, compared to $36.8 million as of October 27, 2023.

Inventories, net, was $335.9 million as of November 1, 2024, and $422.2 million as of October 27, 2023. The 20% decrease in inventory was driven by actions the Company has taken to improve inventory efficiency by reducing inventory purchases and capitalizing on speed-to-market initiatives.

Net cash used in operating activities was $12.2 million for the 39 weeks ended November 1, 2024, compared to cash provided by operating activities of $36.7 million for the 39 weeks ended October 27, 2023. The increase in cash used by operating activities was driven by the year-over-year changes in working capital, primarily the reduction of inventories in year-to-date 2023.

As of November 1, 2024, the Company had $60.0 million of borrowings outstanding and $90.3 million of availability under its ABL Facility, compared to $110.0 million of borrowings and $156.1 million of availability as of October 27, 2023. Additionally, as of November 1, 2024, the Company had $250.3 million of term loan debt outstanding compared to $233.8 million outstanding as of October 27, 2023.

During the third quarter of fiscal 2024, the Company repurchased $4.0 million of the Company's common stock under its share repurchase program announced on March 15, 2024. As of November 1, 2024, additional purchases of up to $16.2 million could be made under the program through March 31, 2026.

Outlook

Bernie McCracken, Chief Financial Officer, stated, "In the third quarter, we delivered low-double digit growth in GMV, which exceeded our guidance range, and Adjusted EBITDA growth of 17% year-over-year, which was within our guidance range. We also achieved improvements in gross margin and gross profit, primarily driven by lower promotional activity, strength in product solutions, newness across the channels and improved supply chain costs. By improving profit margins across our business units, we have been able to reinvest in the business, including our marketing efforts focused on new customer acquisition.”

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 the Company expects:

  • Net revenue to be between $440.0 million and $480.0 million.
  • Gross Merchandise Value expected to deliver low-to-mid single digits percentage growth.
  • Net income to be between $18.0 million and $21.0 million and diluted earnings per share to be between $0.58 and $0.67.
  • Adjusted net income to be between $16.0 million and $19.0 million and Adjusted diluted earnings per share to be between $0.51 and $0.61.
  • Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $43.0 million to $47.0 million.
For fiscal 2024 the Company now expects:

  • Net revenue to be between $1.36 billion and $1.40 billion.
  • Gross Merchandise Value expected to deliver low-to-mid single digits percentage growth.
  • Net income to be between $6.0 million and $9.0 million and diluted earnings per share to be between $0.19 and $0.29.
  • Adjusted net income to be between $11.0 million and $14.0 million and Adjusted diluted earnings per share to be between $0.35 and $0.45.
  • Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $92.0 million to $96.0 million.
  • Capital expenditures of approximately $35.0 million.
Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call on Thursday, December 5, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. ET to review its third quarter financial results and related matters. The call may be accessed through the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at http://investors.landsend.com.

About Lands' End, Inc.

Lands' End, Inc. (NASDAQ:LE) is a leading digital retailer of solution-based apparel, swimwear, outerwear, accessories, footwear, home products and uniforms. Lands' End offers products online at www.landsend.com, through third-party distribution channels, our own Company Operated stores and third-party license agreements. Lands' End also offers products to businesses and schools, for their employees and students, through the Outfitters distribution channel. Lands' End is a classic American lifestyle brand that creates solutions for life's every journey.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the Company's execution and expected results of its strategy; the Company's continued focus on driving higher quality sales, and growth in both gross margin and gross profit dollars; the Company's focus on innovation, creating solutions and efforts to attract new and retain existing customers and the expected benefits from those activities; the Company's expectations as to the holiday season and assessment and drivers of performance during the Black Friday through Cyber Monday weekend; the Company's outlook and expectations as to Net revenue, Gross Merchandise Value, Net income, earnings per share, Adjusted net income, Adjusted earnings per share and Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 and for the full year of fiscal 2024, and capital expenditures for fiscal 2024; and the potential for additional purchases under the Company's share repurchase program. The following important factors and uncertainties, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements: global supply chain challenges and their impact on inbound transportation costs and delays in receiving product; disruption in the Company's supply chain, including with respect to its distribution centers, third-party manufacturing partners and logistics partners, caused by limits in freight capacity, increases in transportation costs, port congestion, other logistics constraints, and closure of certain manufacturing facilities and production lines due to public health crises and other global economic conditions; the impact of global economic conditions, including inflation, on consumer discretionary spending; the impact of public health crises on operations, customer demand and the Company's supply chain, as well as its consolidated results of operation, financial position and cash flows; the Company may be unsuccessful in implementing its strategic initiatives, or its initiatives may not have their desired impact on its business; the Company's ability to obtain additional financing on commercially acceptable terms or at all, including, the condition of the lending and debt markets; the Company's ability to offer merchandise and services that customers want to purchase; changes in customer preference from the Company's branded merchandise; the Company's results may be materially impacted if tariffs on imports to the United States increase and it is unable to offset the increased costs from current or future tariffs through pricing negotiations with its vendor base, moving production out of countries impacted by the tariffs, passing through a portion of the cost increases to the customer, or other savings opportunities; customers' use of the Company's digital platform, including customer acceptance of its efforts to enhance its eCommerce websites, including the Outfitters website; customer response to the Company's marketing efforts across all types of media; the Company's maintenance of a robust customer list; the Company's retail store strategy may be unsuccessful; the Company's Third Party channel may not develop as planned or have its desired impact; the Company's dependence on information technology; failure of information technology systems, including with respect to its eCommerce operations, or an inability to upgrade or adapt its systems; failure to adequately protect against cybersecurity threats or maintain the security and privacy of customer, employee or company information and the impact of cybersecurity events on the Company; fluctuations and increases in costs of raw materials as well as fluctuations in other production and distribution-related costs; impairment of the Company's relationships with its vendors; the Company's failure to compete effectively in the apparel industry; legal, regulatory, economic and political risks associated with international trade and those markets in which the Company conducts business and sources its merchandise; the Company's failure to protect or preserve the image of its brands and its intellectual property rights; increases in postage, paper and printing costs; failure by third parties who provide the Company with services in connection with certain aspects of its business to perform their obligations; the Company's failure to timely and effectively obtain shipments of products from its vendors and deliver merchandise to its customers; reliance on promotions and markdowns to encourage customer purchases; the Company's failure to efficiently manage inventory levels; unseasonal or severe weather conditions; natural disasters, political crises or other catastrophic events; the adverse effect on the Company's reputation if its independent vendors or licensees do not use ethical business practices or comply with contractual obligations, applicable laws and regulations; assessments for additional state taxes; incurrence of charges due to impairment of other intangible assets and long-lived assets; the impact on the Company's business of adverse worldwide economic and market conditions, including inflation and other economic factors that negatively impact consumer spending on discretionary items; the stock repurchase program may not be executed to the full extent within its duration, due to business or market conditions or Company credit facility limitations; the ability of the Company's principal stockholders to exert substantial influence over the Company; and other risks, uncertainties and factors discussed in the "Risk Factors” section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 2, 2024. The Company intends the forward-looking statements to speak only as of the time made and does not undertake to update or revise them as more information becomes available, except as required by law.

CONTACTS

Lands' End, Inc.

Bernard McCracken

Chief Financial Officer

(608) 935-4100

Investor Relations:

ICR, Inc.

Tom Filandro

(646) 277-1235

[email protected]

-Financial Tables Follow-

LANDS' END, INC.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(Unaudited)

 
(in thousands, except per share data) November 1,

2024

  October 27,

2023

  February 2,

2024*

 
ASSETS         
Current assets         
Cash and cash equivalents $30,401  $36,821  $25,314 
Restricted cash  1,912   1,833   1,976 
Accounts receivable, net  35,538   31,422   35,295 
Inventories, net  335,855   422,160   301,724 
Prepaid expenses and other current assets  49,789   47,952   45,951 
Total current assets  453,495   540,188   410,260 
Property and equipment, net  109,173   121,400   118,033 
Operating lease right-of-use asset  21,484   26,216   23,438 
Intangible asset  257,000   257,000   257,000 
Other assets  2,419   2,758   2,748 
TOTAL ASSETS $843,571  $947,562  $811,479 
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY         
Current liabilities         
Current portion of long-term debt $13,000  $13,750  $13,000 
Accounts payable  132,116   161,426   131,922 
Lease liability - current  5,196   5,754   6,024 
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities  109,894   109,927   108,972 
Total current liabilities  260,206   290,857   259,918 
Long-term borrowings under ABL Facility  60,000   110,000   - 
Long-term debt, net  227,558   215,306   236,170 
Lease liability - long-term  21,116   26,065   22,952 
Deferred tax liabilities  48,343   51,176   48,020 
Other liabilities  2,705   3,253   2,826 
TOTAL LIABILITIES  619,928   696,657   569,886 
Commitments and contingencies         
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY         
Common stock, par value $0.01 authorized: 480,000 shares;

issued and outstanding: 31,023, 31,719 and 31,433, respectively

  311   317   315 
Additional paid-in capital  351,940   358,811   356,764 
Accumulated deficit  (112,877)  (90,797)  (99,417)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss  (15,731)  (17,426)  (16,069)
TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY  223,643   250,905   241,593 
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY $843,571  $947,562  $811,479 
 
* Derived from the audited consolidated financial statements included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 2, 2024.

LANDS' END, INC.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

(Unaudited)

 
  13 Weeks Ended  39 Weeks Ended 
(in thousands, except per share data) November 1,

2024

  October 27,

2023

  November 1,

2024

  October 27,

2023

 
Net revenue $318,628  $324,735  $921,272  $957,656 
Cost of sales (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)  157,483   172,142   469,262   527,529 
Gross profit  161,145   152,593   452,010   430,127 
             
Selling and administrative  140,876   135,282   403,787   377,662 
Depreciation and amortization  8,153   9,595   25,850   28,439 
Goodwill impairment  -   106,700   -   106,700 
Other operating expense, net  2,829   2,324   8,367   2,916 
Operating income (loss)  9,287   (101,308)  14,006   (85,590)
Interest expense  10,266   11,677   31,049   35,984 
Other expense (income), net  352   (132)  180   (488)
Loss before income taxes  (1,331)  (112,853)  (17,223)  (121,086)
Income tax (benefit) expense  (738)  (459)  ()[\]\\.,;:\s@\"]+)*)|(\".+\"))@((\[[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\])|(([a-zA-Z\-0-9]+\.)+[a-zA-Z]{2,}))$/;return b.test(a)}$(document).ready(function(){if(performance.navigation.type==2){location.reload(true)}$("iframe[data-lazy-src]").each(function(b){$(this).attr("src",$(this).attr("data-lazy-src"))});if($(".owl-article-body-images").length){$(".owl-article-body-images").owlCarousel({items:1,loop:true,center:false,dots:false,autoPlay:true,mouseDrag:false,touchDrag:false,pullDrag:false,nav:true})}var a=$("#display_full_text").val();if(a==0){$.ajax({url:"/ajax/set-article-cookie",type:"POST",data:{cmsArticleId:$("#cms_article_id").val()},dataType:"json",success:function(b){},error:function(b,d,c){}})}$(".read-full-article").on("click",function(d){d.preventDefault();var b=$(this).attr("data-cmsArticleId");var c=$(this).attr("data-productId");var f=$(this).attr("data-href");dataLayer.push({event:"paywall_click",paywall_name:"the_manila_times_premium",paywall_id:"paywall_article_"+b});$.ajax({url:"/ajax/set-article-cookie",type:"POST",data:{cmsArticleId:b,productId:c},dataType:"json",success:function(e){window.location.href=$("#BASE_URL").val()+f},error:function(e,h,g){}})});$(".article-embedded-newsletter-form .close-btn").on("click",function(){$(".article-embedded-newsletter-form").fadeOut(1000)})});$(document).on("click",".article-embedded-newsletter-form .newsletter-button",function(){var b=$(".article-embedded-newsletter-form .newsletter_email").val();var d=$("#ga_user_id").val();var c=$("#ga_user_yob").val();var a=$("#ga_user_gender").val();var e=$("#ga_user_country").val();if(validateEmail(b)){$.ajax({url:"/ajax/sendynewsletter",type:"POST",data:{email:b},success:function(f){$(".article-embedded-newsletter-form .nf-message").html(f);$(".article-embedded-newsletter-form .nf-message").addClass("show");setTimeout(function(){$(".article-embedded-newsletter-form .nf-message").removeClass("show");$(".article-embedded-newsletter-form .nf-message").html("")},6000);dataLayer.push({event:"newsletter_sub",user_id:d,product_name:"newsletter",gender:a,yob:c,country:e})},error:function(f,h,g){}})}else{$(".article-embedded-newsletter-form .nf-message").html("Please enter a valid email address.");$(".article-embedded-newsletter-form .nf-message").addClass("show");setTimeout(function(){$(".article-embedded-newsletter-form .nf-message").removeClass("show");$(".article-embedded-newsletter-form .nf-message").html("")},6000)}});$(document).on("click",".article-embedded-newsletter-form .nf-message",function(){$(this).removeClass("show");$(this).html("")});