MANUFACTURING
Earnings Decline for Parent Company of Hudson Jeans and Robert Graham
The company that started Joe’s Jeans and now runs Hudson Jeans and Robert Graham reported that its third-quarter earnings results took a step down from last year’s result.
Centric Brands, which used to be called Differential Brands and was based in Los Angeles, said that net sales for the quarter ending Sept. 30 slipped 6 percent from the same period last year to $39.8 million, and net losses totaled $10.6 million compared with a net loss of $183,000 last year.
While sales in the wholesale division were off by 12.3 percent over last year, the direct-to-consumer segment was vibrant with a 13.6 percent growth in sales.
Within the wholesale segment, Robert Graham saw its sales dip 10.9 percent and Hudson saw its sales drop 18.1 percent. However, the company’s other brand, SWIMS, had a 10.1 percent growth in net sales.
The direct-to-consumer segment did better. Retail sales for the company’s stores jumped 9.4 percent and e-commerce sales exploded with a 20.6 percent increase.
On Oct. 29, Differential Brands acquired for $1.2 billion a significant part of the Global Brands Group’s licensing business in North America. The brands that made up Global Brands’ North American licenses included Calvin Klein, Under Armour, Tommy Hilfiger, BCBG, Joe’s Jeans, Buffalo David Bitton, Frye, Michael Kors, Kate Spade, All Saints, Cole Haan, Kenneth Cole and entertainment properties including Disney, Marvel and Nickelodeon.
With the acquisition, the company changed its name to Centric Brands, which is traded on the Nasdaq, and moved its headquarters to New York, with offices in Los Angeles, Montreal and Greensboro, N.C.
Jason Rabin, former president of Global Brands Group North America, is now chief executive of Centric Brands.
