Swimwear Sales Drop at Warnaco
Swimwear sales took a dive at The Warnaco Group Inc.
The company is based in New York, but its swimwear division, encompassing Speedo and several other brands, is based in Commerce, Calif.
In its second-quarter earnings report, Warnaco noted that swimwear’s quarterly revenues of $111.8 million were down nearly 12 percent from the same time period last year. Swimwear’s operating loss was $5.5 million, which included $3.2 million in restructuring expenses to improve profitability.
Overall, Warnaco’s total second-quarter revenues were $465.1 million compared with $445.6 million during the same time last year.
Warnaco’s non-swim brands—both owned and licensed—include intimate-apparel labels Calvin Klein Underwear, Lejaby, Olga and Warners and sportswear labels Calvin Klein Jeans and Chaps.
The company said Speedo’s core competitive and accessories businesses continued to perform well. However, softness in the midtier and mass channels negatively affected revenues and profitability. Within its designer swim division, the company is evaluating ways to improve productivity and profitability as well as reviewing its manufacturing operations.
Warnaco owns the Cole of California and Catalina labels and licenses several other labels, including Anne Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Michael Kors and Polo Ralph Lauren.
The swimwear division used to be a separate company called Authentic Fitness Corp., which Warnaco bought in 1999.
Roger Williams, who had been the swimwear group president for 4 1/22 years, resigned in January. His duties were taken over by Sherry Waterson, president of Speedo, and Paula Schneider. —Deborah Belgum
