Cautious outlook at West 49
Canadian action sports retailer West 49 Inc. has posted a slight sales decline for its fourth quarter ended January 26.
Net sales for the quarter increased 0.8% to $62.4 million from $61.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2007. Net income for the quarter was $2.2 million compared with $3.4 million in the prior-year quarter. At the end of the quarter the company was operating 134 stores compared with 125 stores at the end of the fourth quarter of2007.
For the year, net sales increased 4.9% to $204.9 million from $195.3 million in the previous year. Net income was $1.5 million compared with $4.6 million.
"Given the challenges of our current environment, we are sharpening our focus on strategies to improve gross margin, leverage expenses and drive comparable store sales growth," said chief executive officer, Sam Baio. "We will be more prudent and opportunistic with regards to real estate projects for fiscal 2009, as rapid expansion over the last few years has driven up our occupancy costs, which have dragged on our profitability."
