Oxford Industries’ net sales for the fourth quarter increased 35.5 percent to $299.92 million.
In a Nutshell: Oxford Industries Inc., owner of Tommy Bahama and Lilly Pulitzer, expects net sales to grow to between $1.25 billion and $1.29 billion for the full 2022 fiscal year ending on Jan. 28, 2023, as compared to net sales of $1.14 billion in fiscal 2021.
In fiscal 2022, adjusted earnings per share (EPS) are expected at $8.75 to $9.15. This compares to earnings of $7.78 per share in fiscal 2021.
For the first quarter ending April 30, Oxford expects net sales in a range of $315 million to $335 million, compared to $266 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2021. Adjusted EPS is forecast to be $2.65 to $2.85. This compares with EPS of $1.70 in the first quarter of fiscal 2021.
Capital expenditures in 2022 are projected at roughly $50 million, compared to $32 million in fiscal 2021, primarily reflecting investments in information technology initiatives, the development of new direct to consumer locations, including a new Marlin Bar in Florida’s Palm Beach Gardens, and remodeling existing locations.
The company said it ended fiscal 2021 with $210 million of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments and no borrowings outstanding under its revolving credit agreement. The liquidity improvement was attributed to $198 million of cash flow from operations, which funded $32 million of capital expenditures primarily for information technology initiatives to enhance capabilities with regard to omnichannel, digital marketing and data, as well as investments in Marlin Bars and retail stores.
Sales: Net sales for the fourth quarter ended Jan. 29 increased 35.5 percent to $299.92 million compared to $221.37 million in the fourth quarters of fiscal 2020, despite having exited Lanier Apparel, which had sales of $9 million in the 2020 quarter.
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In the quarter, compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019, full-price direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales grew 23 percent to $203 million, including growth of 48 percent in full-price e-commerce and 7 percent in full-price retail. Lilly Pulitzer e-commerce flash clearance sales were $13 million compared to $17 million in the same period of 2019.
Wholesale sales, excluding Lanier Apparel, decreased to $42 million compared to $57 million during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. This decrease includes the impact of most spring wholesale deliveries shifting into the first quarter of 2022.
For the year, net sales rose 52.4 percent to $1.14 billion compared to $748.83 million in fiscal 2020. Sales of Lanier Apparel, which the company exited in the third quarter of fiscal 2021, were $25 million in fiscal 2021 and $39 million in 2020.
For the full fiscal year compared to fiscal 2019, Oxford said full-price DTC sales grew 21 percent to $723 million, including growth of 58 percent in full-price e-commerce and 1 percent in percent in full-price retail.
Lilly Pulitzer e-commerce flash clearance sales decreased to $32 million in fiscal 2021 compared to $48 million in fiscal 2019 due to higher full price sell through resulting in less inventory available for fiscal 2021 clearance events.
Wholesale sales, excluding Lanier Apparel, decreased to $207 million during fiscal 2021 compared to $239 million in 2019. The decrease was primarily related to conservative inventory positions taken by wholesale partners, who placed most orders when there was heightened uncertainty related to Covid.
Earnings: Net earnings in the quarter were $25.41 million compared to a net loss of $12.22 million in the prior-year period. EPS in the quarter was $1.50 compared to a loss of 74 cents per share in the same period of the prior year.
Gross margin in the quarter was 59 percent compared to 56 percent in the same period of 2019. Significant gross margin improvement was fueled by strong full-price sales, a shift in sales mix towards full-price direct to consumer channels, and improved initial product margin, partially offset by higher freight costs and the impact of LIFO accounting.
For the year, net earnings were $131.32 million compared to a net loss of $95.69 million in 2020. EPS was $7.78 compared to a loss of $5.77 in fiscal 2020. Gross margin for fiscal 2021 increased 440 basis points to 62 percent compared to 2019.
CEO’s Take: Thomas C. Chubb III, chairman and CEO, said: “Each of our happy, upbeat lifestyle brands–Tommy Bahama, Lilly Pulitzer, Southern Tide, The Beaufort Bonnet Company and Duck Head–had its best year ever in 2021. All five brands posted strong top and bottom-line growth, not only over 2020, but also as compared to pre-pandemic 2019 levels. While a terrific year for all, the biggest contributor to our record earnings was the performance of our largest brand, Tommy Bahama, where sales grew 7 percent versus 2019 to a record $724 million and adjusted operating margin nearly doubled to 16 percent over the same timeframe. Across all five brands, the key driver of growth in 2021 was higher active customer counts compared to 2019. Driving customer relationships in a profitable manner is critical to our ongoing success and ability to expand earnings beyond fiscal 2021 levels.”
“As terrific as fiscal 2021 was, we believe the prospects for 2022 and beyond are even brighter,” Chubb added. “The momentum that we saw during 2021 has continued into the early part of 2022 and we have outstanding plans to deliver double-digit top and bottom-line growth on a consolidated basis.”