U.S. Sales For Calida Down 2 Years In Row

2017 sales at the Calida Group, which offers intimate and related apparel under both the Aubade and Calida brands, as well as other products under other brands, declined in the U.S. for the second year in a row, while they expanded elsewhere around the world in 2017.

In its 2017 annual report, the Swiss-based firm, which now also sells furniture, mountain equipment, outdoor apparel and surf gear under a host of brands, reported U.S. sales fell to 4.886 million Swiss francs (CHF) (about $4.9 million at current exchange rates) from 6.182 million CHF (about $6.3 million) in 2016. In 2015 U.S. sales were even higher, 6.779 million CHF. The report does not make it clear, however, how much of the decline was related to intimate apparel or other products from the company.

Meanwhile, overall sales and profits for Calida Group rose. The firm reported net income of 16.871 million CHF (about $17 million) on net sales of 380.634 million CHF (about $385 million) up from earnings of 14.758 million CHF on net sales of 370.877 million CHF in 2016.

In its 120 pages, Calida’s annual report hardly mentions the U.S. at all, with perhaps the most prominent piece of news being the “closure of the in-house sales organization in the United States,” of the company’s Millet Mountain Group.

The 2017 report claims two accomplishments in the worldwide underwear segment: the “clear positioning of the Aubade brand, internationalization of ranges and export growth,” and the “modernization of the Calida brand and double-digit growth rates in the menswear segment.”

It also noted that during the past year, “In order to strengthen its increasingly important e-commerce business and to meet new customer requirements arising from the digitalization of sales channels, Calida Group acquired 100 percent of successful German online retail specialist Reich Online Services GmbH, which has 75 employees, with effect from 1 March 2017. The acquisition represents an investment by Calida Group in the world’s fastest growing sales channel. It strengthens the group’s e-commerce capabilities and will enable even more consistent development of the Calida brand, in an initial phase, and then the Group’s other brands in this attractive area of business. Thanks to the acquisition, Calida Group more than doubled sales made through its own e-commerce operation in 2017. These sales accounted for 8.2 percent of the total, up from 3.6 percent in the prior year. This does not include online sales of our products by our wholesale clients and online sellers.”

Speaking of the international scene, board chairman, Dr. Thomas Lustenberger and CEO Reiner Pichler, in a joint statement, wrote, “The forecast for 2018 is that markets in our segment will continue to stagnate and that the retail sector will continue to be gripped by deep and lasting change. In addition, the internet and digitalization are changing the behavior of end-consumers in a way and at a speed that we have never seen before. This is resulting in more intense competition, which we will counter by investing in our brands to ensure that Calida Group continues to perform positively in 2018.” — NM