LOS ANGELES, CA (BRAIN) Wednesday August 8 2012 4:14 PM MT—Sport Chalet on Wednesday reported its first profitable fiscal first quarter in five years as same-store and online sales showed improvement for the period ended July 1.
Net income eked over into the black at $100,000, compared with a loss of $800,000 a year earlier. Comparable-store sales rose 2.9 percent, online sales gained 7 percent and team sales rose 12.5 percent, but these gains were offset by the closure of a store that contributed $1.7 million in sales in the year-ago period, the company reported.
Although small, the first-quarter profit comes on the heels of a $3.8 million loss in the company’s fiscal fourth quarter, when unfavorable winter weather dragged down earnings.
"We are happy with our first quarter results as we rebounded from the unseasonably warm and dry winter weather that significantly affected our sales and profitability in the third and fourth quarter of fiscal 2012,” said chairman and CEO Craig Levra. “This result validates our belief that the consistent improvements we have made to our business over the past few years have positioned us to return to profitability for fiscal 2013."
Looking forward, Sport Chalet plans to open a new, 27,000-square-foot store in downtown Los Angeles in May 2013 that is part of a $40 million redevelopment project.
Some Sports Chalet locations sell bike brands including Fuji, Electra and Masi, but the company does not break out earnings for its cycling business. In April, Marin Bikes ended its long-standing relationship with the sporting goods chain, channeling its sales exclusively through specialty bicycle retailers.
—Toby Hill
thill@bicycleretailer.com
