expenses were $8.2 million, or 54% of net sales, in 2022 and $5.8 million, or 49% of net sales, in 2021. The increases in 2022 were mainly due to higher e-commerce expenses, primarily outbound freight and advertising.
Retail operating earnings were $1.1 million for the quarter, down 5% compared to $1.2 million in last year’s second quarter. This decrease was primarily due to lower earnings from our e-commerce businesses, as higher sales were offset by higher selling and administrative expenses. For the six months ended June 30, retail operating earnings were relatively flat at $1.9 million in both 2022 and 2021. E-commerce earnings were down for the year-to-date period, as higher sales were offset by the higher expenses, however, this decrease was offset by improved performance at active brick and mortar locations.
Other
Our other businesses include our wholesale and retail operations of Florsheim Australia and Florsheim Europe. Other net sales for the second quarter of 2022 were $8.0 million, down 16% compared to $9.5 million in the second quarter of 2021. For the six months ended June 30, 2022, other net sales were $14.4 million, down 17% compared to $17.4 million in the same period one year ago. The decreases in 2022 were largely due to the closing of Florsheim Europe, but also due to lower sales at Florsheim Australia. Florsheim Australia’s net sales for the second quarter and first six months of 2022 were down 4% and 6%, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2021. The weakening of the Australia dollar relative to the U.S. dollar led to these decreases, as Florsheim Australia’s net sales in local currency were up 4% and 1% for the quarter and year-to-date periods, respectively, due to higher sales in its retail businesses, partially offset by lower sales in its wholesale businesses. Florsheim Australia’s sales for the first six months of 2022 reached 95% of 2019 levels.
Other operating earnings totaled $365,000 for the quarter versus $718,000 in last year’s second quarter. This decrease was primarily due to lower operating earnings in Florsheim Australia’s wholesale division. For the six months ended June 30, 2022, other operating earnings totaled $122,000 compared to $237,000 in the same period last year. The year-to-date decrease was due to lower operating earnings in Florsheim Australia’s wholesale division partially offset by the shedding of losses at Florsheim Europe.
Other income and expense
Interest income was $89,000 and $188,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. For the six months ended June 30, interest income was $180,000 in 2022 and $319,000 in 2021. The decreases in 2022 were due to less interest earned on the lower cash and investment balances this year. Interest expense decreased $63,000 and $69,000 during the three and six months ended June 30, 2022, compared to the same periods of 2021.
Other income, net, was $181,000 for the quarter compared to $189,000 in last year’s second quarter. For the year-to-date period, other income, net, totaled $175,000 in 2022 and $327,000 in 2021. The decrease in the first half of 2022 was primarily due to lower unrealized gains on foreign exchange contracts held by Florsheim Australia.
Our effective income tax rates for the three months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 were 24.1% and 21.2%, respectively. Our effective income tax rates for the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 were 25.3% and 23.7%, respectively. The 2022 and 2021 effective tax rates differed from the federal rate of 21% primarily because of state taxes and the benefit of tax-free municipal bond income.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Our primary sources of liquidity are our cash, short-term investments, short-term marketable securities, and our revolving line of credit. During the first six months of 2022, our operations resulted in a net $18.7 million use of cash, mainly to fund inventory purchases. We are making good progress building our inventory back after reducing it during the pandemic, as our overall inventory level was $95.5 million as of June 30, 2022. Before the supply chain issues, about 10 to 20 percent of our inventory was in “in-transit”. As of June 30, 2022, of the $95.5 million, approximately 40 percent or 1.9 million pairs, was in-transit while approximately 60 percent, or 2.7 million pairs, was on-hand in our distribution center. Transit times remain very inconsistent on containers from Asia, so it is necessary to have factories ship our shoes and boots earlier than usual for the Fall season. Our inventory balance will continue to grow through the second half of this year to meet increased demand for our product. As we build our inventory levels, we are focusing on greater depth in our core, carry-forward product as this is the product that retailers replenish on a weekly basis and expect us to have a strong “in-stock” position in.
During the first half of 2022, we liquidated $8.1 million of investment securities, mainly to fund inventory purchases.