VAN NUYS, CA (BRAIN)—Easton Bell reported a moderate increase in sales in 2008, although the company’s profit dipped slightly.
The company, which owns the Giro, Bell, Blackburn and Easton brands, posted sales of $775.5 million last year, an increase of 7 percent from 2007, according to Easton Bell’s annual report released by the Securities Exchange Commission last week.
Net income was down from $14.5 million in 2007 to $13.4 million last year.
Easton Bell’s Action Sports segment, which includes its cycling helmet, component and accessories products, posted a 10.9 increase in sales in 2008—from $308.1 million in 2007 to $341.8 million last year.
The costs of sales in that division rose less than 1 percent due to changes in the sales mix and increased production costs, which was partially offset by increased selling prices to customers, the report said.
Cycling and other action sports helmets accounted for 19.3 percent of net sales in 2008, up from 18.5 percent the year before; cycling component and accessories, including Blackburn-branded air pumps, racks, lights, cyclometers, tools and CO2 inflators, amounted to 6.5 percent of overall sales in 2008, up a tad from 6.3 percent in 2007; and cycling accessories sold under the Bell and Co-Pilot brands primarily through mass retailers accounted for 9.4 percent of sales, the same as 2007.
For more on Easton Bell’s 2008 performance, read the April 1 issue of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.
—Nicole Formosa
