At Home in 17th consecutive quarter of same-store sales gains
Value home-décor retailer At Home Group racked up a healthy sales gain in its first quarter even as weather-related headwinds took a toll on same-store sales. It also continues to expand its retail footprint.
The value home-décor retailer reported net income of $18.4 million for the quarter ended April 28, compared to $10.0 million in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings per share grew 63.2% to $0.31 from $0.19.
Net sales increased 20.9% to $256.2 million, driven by the net addition of 27 stores since the year-ago period. Same-store sales increased 0.9%.
“We are very pleased to deliver our 16th consecutive quarter of over 20% net sales growth and our 17th consecutive quarter of positive comparable store sales increases, especially in light of a particularly wet and cold spring selling season,” said CEO and chairman Lee Bird. “While the adverse weather was a headwind to our outdoor and seasonal categories, customers responded enthusiastically to our indoor and everyday merchandise, most notably in our warm-weather markets.”
On the chain’s quarterly conference call, Bird said new store productivity was another first quarter highlight. “First year performance continues to increase, illustrating the proven portability of our real estate strategy,” he told analysts on the call.
At Home kicked off the first quarter with the opening of its 150th store and expanded to a variety of new markets. In the Northeast, it opened stores in Rochester, New York, and Allentown, Pennsylvania. In the Midwest, it entered Lafayette, Indiana, and Dayton, Ohio, and increased its Southern presence with a new store in Augusta, Georgia. It also densified existing markets in Detroit, Chicago, and Orlando, Florida.
“Our fiscal 2018 class of new stores continued to exceed our expectations in their first quarter,” Bird said. “In terms of our fiscal 2019 class three quarters of this year's new stores are now open or under construction. We have approved half of our fiscal 2020 new store class. As I mentioned last quarter, our pipeline has never been deeper.”
At Home reaffirmed its top-line expectations and raised its profitability outlook for fiscal 2019. For fiscal 2019, it expects net sales of $1.154 billion to $1.161 billion, representing annual growth of 21% to 22%, based on 34 gross and 31 net new store opening.
“Our second quarter outlook assumes net sales growth of 22% to 24% and comparable store sales growth of 2.5% to 3.0%, which represents a two-year 10.3% to 10.8% increase,” stated CFO Judd Nystrom. “We expect to drive significant gross margin expansion through product margin improvement and the lapping of last year’s incremental inventory-related distribution costs, which enables us to continue reinvesting in new store growth and advertising to support our brand awareness initiatives.”
The company ended the quarter with 156 stores in 34 states.
The value home-décor retailer reported net income of $18.4 million for the quarter ended April 28, compared to $10.0 million in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings per share grew 63.2% to $0.31 from $0.19.
Net sales increased 20.9% to $256.2 million, driven by the net addition of 27 stores since the year-ago period. Same-store sales increased 0.9%.
“We are very pleased to deliver our 16th consecutive quarter of over 20% net sales growth and our 17th consecutive quarter of positive comparable store sales increases, especially in light of a particularly wet and cold spring selling season,” said CEO and chairman Lee Bird. “While the adverse weather was a headwind to our outdoor and seasonal categories, customers responded enthusiastically to our indoor and everyday merchandise, most notably in our warm-weather markets.”
On the chain’s quarterly conference call, Bird said new store productivity was another first quarter highlight. “First year performance continues to increase, illustrating the proven portability of our real estate strategy,” he told analysts on the call.
At Home kicked off the first quarter with the opening of its 150th store and expanded to a variety of new markets. In the Northeast, it opened stores in Rochester, New York, and Allentown, Pennsylvania. In the Midwest, it entered Lafayette, Indiana, and Dayton, Ohio, and increased its Southern presence with a new store in Augusta, Georgia. It also densified existing markets in Detroit, Chicago, and Orlando, Florida.
“Our fiscal 2018 class of new stores continued to exceed our expectations in their first quarter,” Bird said. “In terms of our fiscal 2019 class three quarters of this year's new stores are now open or under construction. We have approved half of our fiscal 2020 new store class. As I mentioned last quarter, our pipeline has never been deeper.”
At Home reaffirmed its top-line expectations and raised its profitability outlook for fiscal 2019. For fiscal 2019, it expects net sales of $1.154 billion to $1.161 billion, representing annual growth of 21% to 22%, based on 34 gross and 31 net new store opening.
“Our second quarter outlook assumes net sales growth of 22% to 24% and comparable store sales growth of 2.5% to 3.0%, which represents a two-year 10.3% to 10.8% increase,” stated CFO Judd Nystrom. “We expect to drive significant gross margin expansion through product margin improvement and the lapping of last year’s incremental inventory-related distribution costs, which enables us to continue reinvesting in new store growth and advertising to support our brand awareness initiatives.”
The company ended the quarter with 156 stores in 34 states.