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Fashion companies across the board are battling through disruption and looking to get their bottom lines back on track.
Fast-fashion chain Uniqlo on Wednesday blamed supply chain issues for January’s declining sales and same-store results for doors in Japan.
The month’s same-store sales including online fell 7.1 percent year-on-year while total sales, also including online, dropped 6.3 percent, thanks to a “lack of inventory of thermal clothing, insufficient promotion of sales during sales periods, and a delay in the launch of our Spring ranges caused by the late entry of stock,” Uniqlo said.
Four stores were still temporarily closed at month’s end due to Covid protocols, though the company doesn’t include those locations in its reporting.
Since its new fiscal year started on Sept. 1, 2021, Uniqlo has seen sales decline each month, with same-store and online sales tumbling 19.1 percent on store closures and reduced hours. Vietnam’s lengthy Covid outbreak also drove production and shipping delays.
By October, Uniqlo cited unfavorable weather for the month’s same-store and online sales shrinking 4.8 percent. November’s decline was December’s reached 11.1 percent as “[s]ales of cold-weather clothing struggled” again amid warmer-than-usual weather.
While revenue increased in December’s final week, thanks to a drop in temperature and a strong year-end sale, the month’s revenue declined year-on-year, the company said last month.
Tapestry
Meanwhile, Tapestry managed to raise prices at Kate Spade, Coach and Stuart Weitzman, the three accessible luxury labels that power the fashion house.
In reporting second-quarter results for the period ending Jan. 1, the New York company said digital sales jumped 30 percent while net rose 27 percent to $2.14 billion from $1.69 billion a year ago,...