Operating Results for the Third Quarter ended October 27, 2024
Net sales decreased 8.1% to $127.1 million, compared to $138.2 million in the same period a year ago. Direct to-consumer net sales decreased by 8.3% to $79.8 million primarily driven by lower site conversion compared to the prior year. Retail store net sales decreased by 7.8% to $47.2 million due to slower store traffic, partially offset by strong conversion rates.
Gross profit margin increased 210 basis points to 52.3%, compared to 50.2% in the corresponding prior year driven by our sourcing initiative. Gross profit decreased to $66.4 million, compared to $69.4 million in the corresponding prior year.
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased 1.2% to $82.9 million, compared to $81.8 million in the same period a year ago. As a percentage of net sales, selling, general and administrative expenses deleveraged to 65.2%, compared to 59.2% in the corresponding prior year period mainly driven by higher fixed costs and depreciation from foundational strategic investments, partially offset by efficiencies across logistics and the fulfillment center network.
As part of the Company’s in-depth review of the retail portfolio strategy, fulfillment center network, and benchmarking to identify structural opportunities to improve operating margin, working capital, and asset efficiency, the Company identified phase two of the fulfillment center network plan to maximize productivity and capacity.
As previously mentioned, during the third quarter last year, the Company went live with a highly automated fulfillment center in Adairsville, Georgia. The Adairsville facility processed over 65% of total network volume, has shortened delivery times while driving lower cost per unit to fulfill an order, which was 27% of the cost of the three legacy fulfillment centers during the third quarter. The success and productivity from the critical Adairsville facility investment allowed the Company to implement phase two of its overall fulfillment center network plan. The lease amendment for one of its legacy fulfillment centers, accelerating the lease expiration date from September 2030 to October 2024 was successfully completed in Q3.
The Company incurred total restructuring expenses related to the lease amendment of $7.7 million during the second and third quarters of 2024, $6.2 million of which was recognized during the third quarter.
Exiting the legacy facility is projected to reduce overhead expenses by approximately $1.2 million during the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year. The Company expects an expense reduction of approximately $5.0 million and cash savings of $4.0 million annually.
Balance Sheet and Liquidity
The Company ended the quarter with $9.3 million of cash and cash equivalents, net working capital of $60.6 million, $44.0 million outstanding debt on the Duluth Trading $200 million revolving line of credit and $165.3 million of liquidity.
Fiscal 2024 Outlook
The Company is issuing new guidance for its fiscal 2024, superseding its previous guidance. For fiscal 2024, the Company now expects:
| • | | Net sales of approximately $640 million |
| • | | Full year gross margin reduction of approximately 125 basis points versus prior year |
| • | | SG&A expenses, excluding the sales tax contingency, to deleverage by approximately 80 bps versus prior year |
| • | | Capital expenditures, inclusive of software hosting implementation costs, of approximately $23 million |
Conference Call Information
A conference call and audio webcast with analysts and investors will be held on Thursday, December 5, 2024 at 9:30 am Eastern Time, to discuss the results and answer questions.
| • | | Live conference call: 844-875-6915 (domestic) or 412-317-6711 (international) |
| • | | Conference call replay available through December 12, 2024: 877-344-7529 (domestic) or 412-317-0088 (international) |
| • | | Replay access code: 2540359 |
| • | | Live and archived webcast: ir.duluthtrading.com |
Investors can pre-register for the earnings conference call to expedite their entry into the call and avoid waiting for a live operator. To pre-register for the call, please visit https://dpregister.com/sreg/10193192/fda17fd748 and enter your contact information. You will then be issued a personalized phone number and pin to dial into the live conference call. Investors can pre-register any time prior to the start of the conference call.
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