Sentiment Analysis of the earnings transcript to help figure out if there are any bullish or bearish sentiments that could be gathered from it. We're doing ML and AI based analysis on the earnings call to get some more insights.
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| Statement |
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| So overall, while 2023 was challenging in a number of ways, we drove sequential improvement throughout the year, ended the year with a strong quarter, and made important progress on our key strategic initiatives |
| It has also been an exclusive licensee for Madden NYC apparel since its launch in 2022 and has had outstanding success with that brand so far |
| After a tough start to 2023, we saw sequential improvement each quarter throughout the year in both revenue and earnings when compared to the prior year, culminating in the fourth quarter when revenue grew 10% and diluted EPS rose 39% versus the comparable period in 2022 |
| The Q4 results included organic revenue growth in both the wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels, supplemented by the contribution from the newly acquired, Almost Famous, as well as strong year-over-year operating margin improvement |
| I'm proud of how our team navigated the difficult environment, controlled what we could control, and remained focused on executing our strategy for long-term growth |
| The foundation of which is driving closer connections with consumers through the combination of consistently trend-right product assortments and effective consumer engagement, which in turn will enable success with our four key long-term business drivers |
| Obviously, if their comp store sales improve, that will incur, I believe that will encourage them to get more aggressive, and I think we'll be very well positioned to participate, if that happens |
| International has been the fastest growing part of our business over the last several years, and the momentum continued in 2023 despite the challenging macro environment |
| We feel, we believe that we are confident that we're very important vendors for them, that we're going to get more than our fair share, that we're positioned to take share, frankly, in that channel |
| And so we're really positioned to run our playbook and do what we do, and we feel good about that |
| The mix in the wholesale segment was interesting in Q4 with extremely strong growth on easy compares and accessories and kind of flat footwear |
| So we're running very nice, solidly positive comps and seeing that in both brick-and- mortar and digital year-to-date |
| And so we feel good about our inventory position |
| Our Steven Madden handbag business was the highlight, increasing 37%, including strong growth in both wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels, in both domestic and international markets |
| And even coming into Q1, we continue to see significant outperformance in the outlet channel versus the full price channel in the United States |
| And looking out further, we are confident that the combination of our strong brands and proven business model will enable us to drive sustainable revenue and earnings growth for years to come |
| And in fact, I believe that this year at DTC, there's opportunity for gross margin improvement in DTC by controlling promotions |
| We have very strong momentum in Europe, and we do feel that we are outperforming our competitors in terms of sell-through and overall performance |
| Taking share, there's still a very healthy demand for our product there |
| But because of the momentum we have, the strong performance that we've been seeing, both in wholesale and in our direct-to-consumer channels, and to your point, the fact that we're just not a mature business there |
| We did, however, see sequential improvement in the year-over-year top line performance each quarter throughout the year, and Q4 DTC revenue increased 2% compared to the comparable period in the prior year |
| And that's been a good formula for us, especially in the fast moving trend business in which we operate |
| As we look ahead, while the operating environment remains choppy, we believe the on-trend product assortments created by Steve and his team have us well positioned for 2024 |
| Wholesale accessories and apparel revenue was $129.6 million, up 56.5% to the fourth quarter in the prior year, or 10.3% excluding Almost Famous, driven by another quarter of strong growth in Steven Madden handbags |
| And I think that's another reason that we do believe that on an organic basis, we can see some gross margin improvement this year |
| The good news is that inventories in the channel are much healthier than they were a year ago, and so while the sentiment among many of our key customers remains cautious, we are positioned to return to year-over-year revenue growth in this business beginning in Q1 |
| We are pleased to have finished the year on a high note, delivering fourth quarter results that exceeded expectations on both the top and bottom lines |
| In terms of the wholesale channels, look, I think the one I'm the most bullish about in terms of top line growth is probably the mass channel because as we point out, we did take a big hit there as they pulled back the reins really dramatically to get their inventories in line and we're starting to see that business recover and we're already, as I pointed out, expecting to see a nice year-over-year improvement beginning in Q1 |
| Even in Q4, we saw a significant improvement in November and December relative to the trend in October |
| Edward Rosenfeld Yes, we've seen a nice improvement in that business over the last few months |
| Statement |
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| Looking back at 2023 overall, we faced challenging market conditions, with wholesale customers taking a cautious approach to orders and consumers pulling back on discretionary spending |
| So I do feel we're really, obviously that whole model was challenged for a period when there was the tremendous supply chain disruption in the wake of COVID |
| After strong growth in this business in 2021 and 2022, our DTC revenue declined 3% in 2023 |
| 2023 was a uniquely challenging year in that channel, as many of our wholesale customers entered the year with excess inventory and reduced order significantly in efforts to right-size inventory levels |
| And we probably think that we'll have about 70 basis points pressure on the gross margin compared to this year |
| That said, the overall macro environment is tough there |
| If we go back to fall, it was a somewhat challenging boot season, and so we did a little bit more promotional activity to move through the boots |
| And it's about 11% operating margin for the year, which is down 50, which is essentially attributable, almost all attributable to the Almost Famous pressure |
| The retail environment is challenging there |
| Wholesale footwear revenue was $225.2 million, a 0.4% decrease from the comparable period in 2022, as a modest increase in the brand's business was offset by a decline in private label |
| Consolidated revenues for 2023 decreased 6.6% to $2 billion, compared to $2.1 billion in 2022 |
| A lot of other brands have talked about the European consumer becoming a little more cautious |
| Overall, their sentiment does remain cautious, though, and we'll have to see how that develops over the course of the year |
| Look, there's going to be -- there will be pressure in Q1 for the reasons that Zine already articulated |
| On the up margin, if you just think of Almost Famous alone, that's roughly about 40 basis points, 50 basis points pressure on the up margin |
| You heard from Macy’s yesterday about a significant number of store closings |
| And as we've talked about, those mass merchant customers that make up the bulk of our private label business were the first ones to see the pullback that happened when folks decided they realized they had too much inventory and pulled back the reins on open device |
| Excluding Almost Famous, inventory was down 5.9% compared to the same period in 2022 |
| These risks include, among others, matters that we have described in our press release issued earlier today and filings we make with the SEC |
| But nice thing was, January, we got that cold weather |
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